Why The Crown Cast An American As Churchill Finally Explained By Star
John Lithgow finally explains why The Crown cast him, an American actor, to play the famous British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Created and written principally by Frost/Nixon's Peter Morgan, Netflix's hit historical drama premiered in 2016 and quickly caught on with audiences for its dramatization of the inner workings of the Royal family. The Crown is now four seasons into its run on Netflix with a fifth on the way.
The Crown season 1 featured First Man's Claire Foy as the first actress to portray Elizabeth Windsor in the historical drama, beginning with her marriage to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 to her eventual ascension to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. The early part of her reign included many face-to-meetings with the beloved British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who was dealing with the Great Smog of London at the time. To play the important role of Churchill, The Crown cast Dexter's John Lithgow, which was a curious choice given he was one of the only Americans in a sea of British actors.
Related: The Crown: All 4 Queen Elizabeth Actresses Explained
During a recent appearance on GQ's recurring video series in which actors break down their most iconic characters, John Lithgow finally explained why he was cast as Winston Churchill onThe Crown. Lithgow reveals that the show's creators wanted a non-British actor to play Churchill because of his close ties to America. They ended up going with Lithgow, who is "about as English as an American actor can get." Read his full explanation below:
I went to drama school in London many years ago. So there's this sort of English thread. I'm about as English as an American actor can get to a point of pure pretension. You know, when you think about
Read more on screenrant.com
