'The Crown' Casts Jonathan Pryce As Its Third & Final Prince Philip

Watching The Crown build itself into a powerhouse series of A-list casting coups has been nearly as enjoyable as watching the show. Netflix planned for this to be a project on a scale that regular broadcast and cable TV could not risk. It greenlit the show for six seasons straight through, sight unseen, covering living icons of royal power, the Windsor family, and the life of its current reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth. Moreover, it would not stoop to aging makeup or digital manipulation of characters with one set of actors. Instead, it planned to recast the show, nose-to-tail, twice.

In each set of actors, one can see the ambitions grow. Seasons 1 and 2 only had one household name, Doctor Who's Matt Smith, as Prince Philip, with Elizabeth and Margaret played by relative unknowns Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby. (Though we fans of Masterpiece knew the real casting coup of the set was Foy, from her turn as Anne Boyelyn in Wolf Hall.) Seasons 3 and 4 scored two out of three, with Oscar-winners Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham-Carter as Elizabeth and Margaret. It nearly landed the hat trick with Paul Bettany as Philip, but missed, and settled for the lesser-known (but better choice) of Tobias Menzies.

For the show's finale two seasons, it's gone whole-hog. Fans already know that Imelda Staunton, she of the iconic roles of Dolores Umbridge and Vera Drake, will take on Elizabeth. Oscar-nominee Lesley Manville, of Phantom Thread and World on Fire fame, will play Margaret. Now they're joined by Jonathan Pryce, making a hat trick of castings for Seasons 5 and 6.