The Crown's Olivia Colman is ‘quite pleased’ to move on from playing the Queen

The Crown’s Olivia Colman has spoken about the difficulties of playing Queen Elizabeth II on the Netflix drama, as no-one knows what she’s really like ‘behind closed doors’.

The actress admitted she was ‘quite pleased’ to be moving on from the role after two seasons due to the challenges she has faced.

Olivia also said it was far more difficult to play a real character than a fictional one during a live interview with Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts [via Radio Times].

‘Because behind closed doors, we don’t know what she’s like,’ Olivia said about the Queen.

‘I had a little bit of play with that. But definitely… the hardest part I’ve done is someone who’s real. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m quite pleased now to be able to move on to something else.’

Harry Potter star Imelda Staunton will take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II in season five, which focuses on the events surrounding the Royal Family in the early 90s.

While Olivia found the series challenging, she was grateful to have been a part of the third and fourth seasons of the Netflix drama.

‘Being employed for two years [on The Crown], that’s a lovely feeling because I still get the fear that it’s not going to happen again,’ she said.

Olivia’s central performance has been one of the standout aspects of a controversial third season of the show.

The series has come under fire over its depictions of Royal Family members between 1977 and 1990, including the show’s portrayal of Princess Diana’s eating disorder as well as Charles’ affair with Camilla.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden previously proposed for the TV series to air a warning message telling viewers that its content is fictitious, however, Netflix won’t be following suit.

Star Josh O’Connor has since branded the Culture Secretary’s calls as ‘outrageous’ and described the move as a ‘low blow’.

The Crown is available to watch on Netflix

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