What do the season 6 cast look like in real life?

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Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II

Imelda Staunton took on the leading role for The Crown season 5, telling Tudum the role felt 'extra challenging' due to the fact Queen Elizabeth II is a very recent memory.

"I think the challenge that I felt for myself — the extra challenge, if there wasn’t enough on my plate — was to be the queen that people recognise much more now, the older queen,” Staunton recalls. “Claire Foy’s [version] was almost a costume drama because it seemed so long ago, and then Olivia Colman’s was, again, like a period piece. [This season] just feels so much more present. I thought, ‘I can’t fool anyone now’."

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Imelda Staunton in real life

Imelda Staunton, 67, is recognisable to many for her roles in Downton Abbey, Nanny McPhee and as Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

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Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip

Speaking of his prep that went into playing Philip, Pryce told the Telegraph, "I had seen him as not very outgoing, quite aloof, but when I started to talk to people who knew him it was clear that he was a great person to spend time with, very funny, very full of life,’ he said. No one I spoke to had a bad word to say."

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Jonathan Pryce in real life

Jonathan Pryce, who has previously starred in Game Of Thrones and The Two Popes. He was knighted in 2021 by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama.

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Dominic West as Prince Charles

In an interview, Dominic West revealed he almost turned down the role in The Crown, because of his lack of similarity to Charles.

"I said, 'You've got the wrong guy, I don't look anything like him,'" West recalled to EW. "I was slightly in despair, you know, how was I going to get the physicality of this guy," says the actor, "because the only time I really look like Charles, is from behind, because the hair is just perfect."

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Dominic West in real life

Dominic West is best known for his roles in The Affair and The Wire, but most recently appeared in The Pursuit Of Love and SAS: Rogue Heroes.

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Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles

It was announced in April 2021 that Olivia Williams was taking over from Emerald Fennell as Prince Charles' friend who became his lover, Camilla Parker Bowles.

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Olivia Williams in real life

In real life, Olivia is brunette and made a name for herself in theatres and plays, but also starred as Lady Priscilla Hamilton in the period drama, The Halcyon in 2017.

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Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret

Lesley Manville, who took over as Queen Elizabeth II's sister Margaret, opened up to Yahoo Canada about the heightened tension around season five following the Queen's passing.

"I understand that there's this heightened set of feelings because obviously the Queen has died and that has generated an enormous amount of emotion, not just for individuals, but for art, for my nation, and globally,” Manville said. “But The Crown Season 5 and Season 6 will not be going anywhere near that time."

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Lesley Manville in real life

The 67-year-old actor recently starred in Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, but is also recognisable from Phantom Thread and Sherwood.

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Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana

Elizabeth Debicki took over from Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season five, responded to criticism of the show fictionalising real live events. "I mean, it is clearly fictional," the actor told the Guardian. "I feel like audiences know that, because there are actors, playing parts. I never watched The Crown and thought, this is a documentary, or this is obviously true."

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Elizabeth Debicki in real life

Elizabeth is most recognisable for her part in The Night Manager, but she has since also starred in Widows and Tenet.

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Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne

47-year-old British actor Claudia takes on the role of Queen Elizabeth II's daughter Princess Anne, following in Erin Doherty's footsteps.

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Claudia Harrison in real life

Claudia is known for The Cat's Meow (2001), The IT Crowd (2006) and Murphy's Law (2003).

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Bertie Carvel as Tony Blair

Bertie Carvel joined The Crown at the end of season five as Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He said he really enjoyed recreating Tony Blair's 'New Dawn' speech, saying of the scene was: "an incredible moment for me because I remember that moment [in real life], and I remember what it felt like. It felt like a ‘new dawn’ has broken, has it not? It really felt like a burst of hope."

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Bertie Carvel in real life

Bertie Carvel, 46, is best known for his roles in Doctor Foster, Dalgliesh and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

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Salim Daw as Mohamed Al-Fayed

Salim Daw joined The Crown as Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, or Momo as Princess Diana calls him in the series, in series five and returns for season six.

Speaking of his role as Mohamed, Salim said: "When I left season five, I took Momo Al-Fayed with me. I never left him and he never left me. We were together all the time.”

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Salim Daw in real life

Salim Daw, 71, has been acting since the early 1980s and is best known for his roles in Oslo, Gaza Mon Amour, L’infiltré, and Fauda.

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Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed

Last season Khalid Abdalla joined the cast of The Crown as Dodi Fayed, who has a romantic relationship with Princess Diana.

Ahead of the release of season six Khalid said he wanted to give his portrayal of Dodi, a more three-dimensional picture of what the man was actually like in real life, describing him as: "a gentle, shy person with a very intense and important relationship with his father."

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Khalid Abdalla in real life

Apart from his work in The Crown Khalid Abdalla is also known for his roles in United 93, The Kite Runner, and Assassin’s Creed.

Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.

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