Paul Bettany has spoken about losing out on the role of Prince Philip in The Crown, revealing that he was unable to take over the part from Matt Smith because of a diary clash. Chatting on Lorraine with his Avengers co-star, Elizabeth Olsen, the Beautiful Mind actor explained: "We discussed it. We just couldn’t come to terms on dates really. [That] is all that happened." He added that he was a huge fan of the smash hit Netflix series, saying: "100 per cent, I’ll remain a fan of it – it’s fantastic."
Paul spoke about The Crown role
He also spoke about the highly-anticipated new Marvel film, Avengers: Infinity War, admitting that the cast were given fake information in the scripts. Elizabeth said: "It's [the plot] kept secret from us, I still don’t know what it is. I didn’t see half the script, they gave us pages that only pertain to our characters and then they verbally explained things to us. And even then we had lies in our script." Paul added: "We have fake stories. Fake endings."
Tobias Menzies will play Prince Philip in season three
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Tobias Menzies is now confirmed to be playing the role of Prince Philip in season three of The Crown. The actor is best known for his roles as 'Black Jack' Randall and his descendant, Frank Randall, in Outlander and as Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones. He is joining Olivia Coleman as the Queen, who has taken over the role from Claire Foy. Speaking about Olivia picking up the mantle, Claire told HELLO!: "She's a genius, a wonderful human being. I can't offer anything to her, just admiration... she needs no tips from me." Fans praised Tobias' casting, with one writing: "Best news I've heard all day! Super excited for Season 3!" Another added: "What a wonderful idea, I can’t wait. Since Outlander I’ve been missing your outstanding actor skills."