'The Crown' Season 3 Update: 'Harry Potter' Actress Helena Bonham Carter Admits She Is Worried Of Playing Princess Margaret
The Crown fans will see a different set of cast members in the upcoming third season. English actress Helena Bonham Carter has been confirmed to replace Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret in The Crown Season 3. Kirby played the princess role for the first two seasons of the critically-acclaimed series.
Bonham Carter is not new in playing the role of a royalty. However, she admitted that she is anxious about playing the role of Princess Margaret for a few reasons.
"I'm not sure which I'm more terrified about - doing justice to the real Princess Margaret or following in the shoes of Vanessa Kirby's Princess Margaret. The only thing I can guarantee is that I'll be shorter [than Vanessa]," the actress said.
Bonham Carter previously portrayed the Queen Mother in The King's Speech and The Red Queen in the Alice in Wonderland movie. Bonham Carter is known for her performance as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter franchise. She also starred in several of Tim Burton's movies including Planet of the Apes, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The veteran actress will also appear in the upcoming movie Ocean's 8 movie.
Meanwhile, Netflix also confirmed that Jason Watkins would be joining the new cast as well. The actor will portray the role of Harold Wilson, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and again in 1974 to 1976.
Murder on the Orient Express actress Olivia Colman was earlier confirmed to take on the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy. Outlander actor Tobias Menzies, on the other hand, will play Prince Philip who was earlier portrayed by Matt Smith in the earlier two seasons.
Colman is expected to receive higher compensation than Menzies after The Crown producers issued an apology for the pay gap between Foy and Smith. It was earlier revealed that Smith had received higher pay than Foy. Producer Left Bank assured that "no one gets paid more than the Queen" moving forward.
The show's producers previously said that they would recast some roles every two seasons as the storylines in The Crown move forward. This means Colman, Menzies, and Bonham Carter will play their respective roles up to Season 4 only. New actors will play the characters in the fifth and sixth seasons. Netflix and Left Bank plan to explore the entire life of Queen Elizabeth II for six seasons. The Crown Season 3 is expected to premiere in 2019.