Why Olivia Colman’s new Queen has different coloured eyes: Star of The Crown reveals she couldn’t wear piercing blue contact lenses because of her ‘very strong eyelids’
- Olivia Colman struggled to wear blue contact lenses when filming The Crown
- Decided to ditch the lenses as well as a plan to alter her eyes post production
- The 45-year-old had to go through the ordeal daily and would be ‘held down’
The Crown’s Olivia Colman has likened wearing blue contact lenses to an ‘exorcism’ during her transformation into Queen Elizabeth II for the hit Netflix show.
Many actors have previously taken on elaborate physical transformations to play characters and Colman is no exception.
She has now said her ‘strong eyelids’ made it difficult for her to fully embrace her character.
The director of The Crown previously revealed wearing blue contact lenses took the Oscar-winning star’s acting ability away.
Ben Caron, who directed four episodes of the programme said they eventually decided to ditch the lenses as well as a plan to alter her eye colour post production.
Olivia Colman (pictured above) playing Queen Elizabeth II in the hit Netflix show The Crown
The Queen actually has blue eyes and Colman went through a daily struggle to replicate her look. She is pictured during a picture-taking session in the salon at Sandringham House
In a new interview with US Vogue, The Favourite star, 45, who has taken over the monarch’s role from Claire Foy, said she struggled with contacts and eventually had to retain her own brown eye colour.
Colman would have to go through the ordeal daily and said: ‘It was basically like an exorcism: [I said] ‘Just hold me down and thrust it in!’
Mr Caron added: ‘It didn’t feel like her. CGI-ing her eyes seemed to diminish what she was doing.’
Olivia is joined by Tobias Menzies, who is set to portray Prince Phillip, following in the footsteps of Matt Smith, as the third season follows the royals from 1964 to 1977.
Colman took over the role from Claire Foy who is pictured above with Matt Smith in a scene from the show
Menzies has also had to partake in a transformation and had to have the top of his head cropped to mimic the duke’s hairline.
The new series and will depict historic moments such as the 1966 Aberfan disaster, and the first miner strikes between 1972 and 1974.
A key story that will centre around Prince Phillip will be the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon Landing, which is viewed by many as one of the most pivotal moments of the 20th Century.
The Durrells’ Josh O’Connor will take over the role of Prince Charles as he grows into a young man, and will set the stage for his later marriage to Princess Diana through his early romance with Camilla Parker-Bowles (to be played by Emerald Fennell.)
Helena Bonham Carter will play Princess Margaret. Fans will get to see the turbulent journey in Margaret and Lord Snowdon’s marriage, eventually leading to their split in 1978 – a controversy among the royal family at the time.
Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon (to be played by Ben Daniels) was seen by fans in the show’s second series, as she fell in love with the dashing aristocrat and decided to marry him in what proved a surprise to some.
Jason Watkins will also take over the role of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and will see him work closely with Queen Elizabeth II to abolish capital punishment and stop discrimination against women and minorities.
The Crown’s third season is set to be released on Netflix on November 17, 2019.