Though it might be going too far to say that Prince Philip is the villain of The Crown, he certainly doesn’t go out of his way to make himself very likable. Again and again, in the four seasons of the show that have aired so far, he’s shown that he isn’t a very pleasant person and that he has a very inflexible way of looking at the world and his place in it.
Both Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies deserve a lot of praise for the ways in which they’ve managed to make him more than just a caricature, continuing to find new depths to this enigmatic and frustrating man.
10 Matt Smith: More Vulnerable (At Times)
Though he likes to project a certain image of strength to most of the world, there have been more than a few times where Philip has let his guard down and showed that he’s more vulnerable than he would like others to know, particularly when it comes to his family.
It would take a formidable acting talent to show these two competing sides of Philip’s personality, but somehow Matt Smith does it again and again, keeping Philip from becoming an outright dislikable character.
9 Tobias Menzies: Seems To Actually Have Some Desire For Elizabeth
It would have made sense if Elizabeth and Philip had drifted apart physically as the years went by. It’s a normal enough occurrence with many people who have been married for some time.
However, it seems that Philip still feels a significant amount of desire for his wife, as Tobias Menzies makes abundantly clear at various moments of his performance. It’s actually rather touching, especially considering their challenges as a couple, both in their younger days and in their maturity.
8 Matt Smith: Shows The Harsher Side To Philip
When he’s a young man, Philip can often be a bit of a jerk. In particular, he gives Elizabeth quite a hard time as he grapples with the reality that he is never going to be on an equal footing with her in terms of their royal statuses. Another actor would probably have made the consort look like nothing more than a brat.
However, Matt Smith allows the viewer to understand Philip as someone who truly is struggling to make sense of his place in a modern world that is increasingly hostile towards the monarchy.
7 Tobias Menzies: His Ability To Show Philip’s Aging Angst
As he grows older, Philip’s sense that he hasn’t really accomplished that much grows more acute, and he begins to think that he’s basically accomplished very little in his life. It’s one of those things that actually serve to humanize him, making him into something more than just a cranky old man.
Tobias Menzies has made something of a career of playing complicated male characters, men who have a complex inner life, and he brings all of that to bear in his characterization of Philip.
6 Matt Smith: His Ability To Be Such A Cad
Though he can be sensitive at times, there’s no doubt that the young Philip is very much a cad. Among other things, it’s pretty certain that he actually had an affair, damaging the marriage that Elizabeth has spent so much energy trying to maintain and keep healthy.
With his dashing good looks and his rather petulant gaze, Matt Smith is the perfect person to play up this aspect of Philip’s personality, while also making sure that the audience doesn’t come to outright hate Philip for his chicanery.
5 Tobias Menzies: His Ability To Be A Curmudgeon
On the flip side of the scale, Tobias Menzies deserves a lot of credit for both softening and hardening Philip’s persona. As he approaches middle age, Philip can at times be a truly unpleasant person - particularly to his son Charles - but he can also be remarkably kind, most notably to his daughter, Anne.
Throughout, Menzies makes sure that the audience comes to see Philip as something of a curmudgeonly uncle, and that’s quite an accomplishment, considering that the man is, when all is said and done, a member of royalty.
4 Matt Smith: His Physical Agility
There’s something very kinetic about Matt Smith. This was the man, who after all, managed to wrangle the part of the Doctor, following David Tennant’s departure.
While Philip is a man who is always aware of his dignity and his responsibilities as a monarch, there’s also something graceful and agile about him, a sense that this is a man of action. Again and again, Matt Smith allows the viewer to see as a key part of who Philip is and how he moves through the world.
3 Tobias Menzies: The Intensity Of His Looks
There’s a lot that an actor can do with their face, particularly in a series like this one, where most of the emotion lies buried (sometimes very deeply) beneath the surface.
There’s something almost frighteningly intense about Menzies’ gaze, whether he’s having a particularly angry discussion with Elizabeth or talking with his son Charles about their vast (and sometimes irreconcilable) differences. There’s no doubt that he gives a performance worthy of an Emmy.
2 Matt Smith: His Chemistry With Claire Foy
One of the most entertaining parts of the first two seasons of this show was watching Claire Foy and Matt Smith strike sparks off of one another.
They are two actors at the height of their talents and watching them one can well believe that this is a young royal couple coming to terms with the various difficult aspects of their relationship. It was brilliant casting, and there is an undeniable crackle of chemistry between the two of them.
1 Tobias Menzies: His Chemistry With Erin Doherty
In a particularly revealing episode of the fourth season, Elizabeth and Philip discuss whether or not they have favorites among their children. Philip, unlike Elizabeth, is frank about the fact that Anne is his favorite.
This is very easy to believe because there’s a potent sort of acting chemistry between Menzies and Erin Doherty, the young woman who plays Anne. One can well believe that they are actually father and daughter, so compelling are they together.
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