The 'Maleficent' actress reveals she has had to keep the secret to herself ever since showrunner Peter Morgan offered her the role as Queen Elizabeth II's sister in the final season of the hit series.
- July 6, 2020
AceShowbiz - Lesley Manville can't wait to start playing "wonderful woman" Princess Margaret in "The Crown".
The actress confirmed her casting as Queen Elizabeth II's sister in the fifth and final season of the drama last week (ends July 03), and now she reveals she has had to keep the secret to herself for the past year, ever since showrunner Peter Morgan offered her the role in one of her own favorite TV "treats."
"It's mind-blowing television," the "Maleficent" star tells Deadline. "There was never any doubt that I would say yes. When they said, 'Margaret', I hadn't really thought about it. Then I thought, 'Yes, Margaret! That's fabulous!' She was so avant-garde. So naughty, delightful and funny. What a wonderful woman to play."
Manville will follow in the footsteps of Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham Carter, who took on the role in the first four seasons of the hit show, and she can't wait to pick up the baton.
"I don't find that daunting; I find it thrilling," she adds. "I think, 'Come on Manville, you've got to take that baton, and not let those two actresses think, 'Oh we were great, shame about Manville'. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
Lesley knows she'll be working with old pal and occasional co-star Imelda Staunton, who will portray Elizabeth in season five, but she has no idea who else will make up the cast.
"Not a single name has been dangled like a carrot to make me even more excited," she tells Deadline.
