“Elementary” and “Trainspotting” actor Jonny Lee Miller will play former U.K. Prime Minister in season 5 of “The Crown,” Netflix revealed on Friday.
“Jonny Lee Miller will play John Major in the fifth season of The Crown,” Netflix tweeted.
Major served as Prime Minister of the U.K. and leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. His reign coincided with the last few years of Princess Diana’s life. The Princess’ controversial interview with Martin Bashir on the BBC “Panorama” program, much in the news recently, happened in 1995.
The Princess died in 1997.
Prior to that Major served in the Margaret Thatcher-led U.K. government from 1987 to 1990 as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary.
After several stints on TV, including “EastEnders” and “Prime Suspect,” Miller shot to global prominence playing the character Sick Boy in Danny Boyle’s seminal “Trainspotting” (1996). He also won acclaim for Douglas Mackinnon’s “The Flying Scotsman” (2006), the true story of Graeme Obree, the champion cyclist who built his bicycle from old bits of washing machines who won his championship only to have his title stripped from him.
In recent years, he made the iconic role of sleuth Sherlock Holmes his own in “Elementary,” with Lucy Liu as Watson.
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As exclusively reported by Variety, production on season 5 of hit Netflix series “The Crown” is set to start in July. This season will feature a whole new cast of actors playing the iconic royals, with “Tenet” star Elizabeth Debicki starring as Princess Diana; Dominic West portraying Prince Charles; Imelda Staunton playing the Queen; Jonathan Pryce Prince Philip and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret.
Premiering in 2016, “The Crown” has followed the Royal Family through several time periods, starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s marriage and early careers. Season 3, released in 2019, jumped forward in time to the 1960s and 1970s, replacing the cast with older actors. Season 4 followed the relationship between Princess Diana, who was born in 1961, and Prince Charles, while season 5 will delve into the early 1990s — a hugely turbulent period for the Royal Family.
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