Originally published September 7, 2019. Updated March 12, 2020.
The X-Files star Gillian Anderson has signed on to portray Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown.
“I am so excited to be joining the cast and crew of The Crown and to have the opportunity to portray such a complicated and controversial woman,” said Anderson. “Thatcher was undoubtedly formidable but I am relishing exploring beneath the surface and, dare I say, falling in love with the icon who, whether loved or despised, defined an era.”
Gillian Anderson will play Margaret Thatcher in The Crown Season Four, now in production. pic.twitter.com/OVCO8o2bVk
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) September 7, 2019
The fourth season of the acclaimed drama series is being shot back-to-back with the third, which introduces a new cast that includes Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Ben Daniels as Antony Armstrong-Jones, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles.
The third season of The Crown is set to cover the period between 1964 and 1976, with the fourth presumably then taking place during the Thatcher years.
Anderson’s recent TV work includes her role as the New God Media in the first season of American Gods, although she declined to return for season two following the departure of original showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, along with the Netflix comedy Sex Education alongside Asa Butterfield.
