'The Crown' producers admit Queen Elizabeth actress paid less than Prince Philip actor.Two producers of Netflix's royal family drama "The Crown" admitted on Tuesday that Matt Smith, the actor who plays Prince Philip, was paid more than Claire Foy, the actress who plays the lead character: Queen Elizabeth II.
Suzanne Mackie, the creative director of the production company behind "The Crown," said that Smith received a larger paycheck due to his fame as the titular character on the long-running BBC sci-fi series "Doctor Who."But "going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen," Mackie said at a panel discussion at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem, The revelation comes as Hollywood faces fierce criticism over pay inequities and struggles to find its footing in treating women fairly.
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The most notable recent example of gender pay inequality emerged in January when news broke that Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams was paid significantly less than Mark Wahlberg for last-minute reshoots of the thriller "All the Money in the World."The comments from "The Crown" producers also come in the wake of Frances McDormand's headline-grabbing Oscar acceptance speech, in which she called on actresses to push for inclusion riders, a contract clause that would require studios to hire more women and minorities.