Netflix on the hunt for a Duchess doppelganger
NETFLIX has begun an international search for a Duchess of Cambridge lookalike for the sixth and final series of The Crown.
A casting call notice said the show is seeking “an exceptional young actor” with a “strong physical resemblance” to the future Queen when she was an 18-year-old student. It says no acting experience is required. Shooting is expected to begin in the UK in August.
Three photographs of a young Duchess of Cambridge taken in the early 2000s are included in the casting brief, offering potential candidates an idea of the specific look they are seeking.
One, taken for The Daily Telegraph in July 2004 when the Duchess was 22, shows her in front of Blenheim Palace, a tweed jacket slung over her shoulder.
The others depict her at around the same age or slightly younger, wearing a pink jumper and jeans and a blue jumper with a necklace.
Last month, a casting call came out for actors to play Prince William and Prince Harry, aged between 16 and 21.
The younger members of the Royal family will be portrayed in the final season, which brings the action into the early 2000s. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met at St Andrew’s University in 2001, when they both started the same history of art course.
Scenes depicting their romance will be some of the most recent story lines in The Crown.
The fifth series was expected to be the last, but Peter Morgan, the show’s writer and creator, later said one further instalment would be added.
He said: “As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, it soon became
‘This is a good role in this award-winning drama and we are looking for a strong physical resemblance’
clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.”
Applicants hoping to play the Duchess are asked to send in their personal details as well as a short video of themselves discussing something they love doing. The deadline is May 20.
Robert Sterne, the casting director, said: “This is a good role in this awardwinning drama and we are looking for a strong physical resemblance.”