Who Might Play Meghan, Harry & Co. on a Very Modern Season of ‘The Crown’?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry admitted they’ve seen “some of” The Crown in their big Oprah with Meghan and Harry CBS interview, and given the night’s huge revelations, we couldn’t help but wonder who might play them should the Netflix series tackle the Palace’s modern-day drama.
The hit series, of course, might never cover the family’s youngest and most glamorous couple, at least according to the person who counts, The Crown creator Peter Morgan. He told The Hollywood Reporter last year that he was “much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago. Meghan and Harry are in the middle of their journey, and I don’t know what their journey is or how it will end.”
Season 4 of the show is focused on the 1980s and Princess Diana, and Season 5 is expected to cover Charles and Di’s divorce and her tragic death in 1997.
But who could play Meghan, Harry and co., if Morgan changes his mind? We decided to take some educated guesses.
Casting Harry
Well, let’s actually start with Harry casting Harry. In a previous conversation on The Late Late Show With James Corden, the Duke of Sussex — who said that while the Netflix series is “fiction” it’s “loosely based on the truth” — told Corden he thought Homeland star Damian Lewis would be a good fit. (Corden thought that he himself, ahem, might make a passable Prince William.)
If Harry doesn’t get his wish for Lewis to play him, might we suggest Domhnall Gleeson?
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Casting Meghan
Former Suits and Hallmark star Meghan could play herself, of course, but we know that would be a brand mega-disaster. With her kick-ass attitude, Zoe Kravitz would be a perfect fit, or what about Lovecraft Country actress Jurnee Smollett? Joanna Gaines is a dead ringer for Meghan…but can she act?
Casting Kate
Holly Taylor as Paige Jennings (l.) and Keri Russell on The Americans
Keri Russell or Carey Mulligan would be great as Kate Middleton. The former has an advantage in that she can rock Kate’s iconic hair and has the same athletic vibe, but Mulligan, of course, has the home advantage. In a stretch, we could also see Daisy Ridley in the role.
Casting William
Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Haunting of Bly Manor (Eike Schroter / Netflix)
Prince William could be played by Aaron Taylor Johnson (will a little hair-do change) or, our No. 1 choice, why not The Haunting’s Oliver-Jackson Cohen?
And…Casting Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Andrew’s gotten himself in quite a bit of serious trouble, and we’d be deeply disappointed if the show didn’t tackle this as well. The prince has now permanently resigned from all public roles over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and is a person of interest in a related criminal investigation. The role would certainly be…juicy.
Our two choices? The first is Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, who can now do the stiff upper lip thing in his sleep, though he would need to act like mad to make us forget his kindly turn as the DA patriarch.
Lastly, Hugh Grant has taken on some very meaty roles of late, ones portraying characters capable of evil doings. If nothing else, he’s up for the job.
One thing’s for sure, Meghan and Harry episodes of The Crown would be compulsive viewing. Who do you think should play them and other key characters in the royal saga?
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