The Crown's casting director: Picking actors for Seasons 3 and 4 is especially challenging

Vanity Fair

"Not only are we casting real-life characters,” says casting director Nina Gold, “but as we get closer to the present day, many of these people are very much alive. So we have to honor them by picking the right actor to play them—while making a link between the actors who played these characters in the first seasons.” For instance, Olivia Colman was picked to succeed Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II because they both have the ability to simultaneously convey a stoicism and emotional transparency. "They allow you to somehow see into them without really doing anything,” says Gold. “They each have such easy access to their humanity.”