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Jonny Lee Miller grew to like and respect Sir John Major ‘massively’ while playing him on The Crown-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro
The star said he also learned they had a lot of things in common.
The actor described the process of ‘falling in love’ with the former leader (Picture: Netflix/Getty)
Jonny Lee Miller has opened up on his journey playing former Prime Minister Sir John Major during season 5 of The Crown, ahead of its imminent debut on Netflix.
The actor revealed he had discovered similarities between himself and Sir John and, despite their opposing political views, the more he learned about the politician the more he began to ‘like’ and ‘respect’ him.
Sir John served as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 until 1997, and Jonny reflected on how his perception of Sir John from those years had been drastically altered.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press ahead of the season’s release, Jonny shared: ‘I grew up in a very socialist household, a very left-wing household. I’m pretty leftie, and as a youngster at the time, we thought we knew who John Major was and what it was about.’
‘He got a lot of flak back in the day,’ he added, ‘[but] the more I learned about him the more I began to like him, and we had a lot of similarities.
‘We’re from the same part of the world – he’s from Worcester Park, I’m from Kingston. We both went to state grammar schools, we had theatrical parents. So I had all these things in common, and then the more you learn about the work that he did – my respect for him grew massively.’
Jonny revealed he had found out they shared many similarities, despite their opposing political views (Picture: Walter McBride/WireImage)
Sir John, pictured here with Prince Charles in 1994, has vocally criticised The Crown and its content (Picture: Shutterstock)
The Elementary actor also said he felt the former PM had been ‘very misunderstood’ as he explained how he had tried to bring his interpretation of him to life.
Through a lot of reading and watching footage of him, but the 49-year-old said that he was ‘trying to fall in love with him’.
‘That’s what you’re trying to do really, is you’re trying to inhabit someone, you’re trying to fall in love with him. That’s always a fascinating journey, and especially with someone who I think was very misunderstood, actually, and who I respect greatly.’
Jonny, seen here as Sir John, said he felt the former PM had been ‘very misunderstood’ (Picture: Netflix)
Sir John previously blasted the series as a ‘damaging and malicious’ work of fiction, as he responded to reports of a scene that shows Jonny and Flora Montgomery, who plays his wife Dame Norma, discussing the Royal Family in unflattering terms.
He was also upset by a rumoured scene in which Prince Charles (Dominic West) hosts a secret meeting with Sir John at Highgrove in 1991, at which they discuss potentially ousting the Queen.
At the time, in response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for The Crown told Metro.co.uk: ‘The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series 5 is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.’
Sir Tony Blair, Sir John’s successor as prime minister, has also spoken out against The Crown (Picture: PA)
Sir John subsequently wrote in a letter to The Telegraph that it ‘will be profoundly hurtful to a family who are still grieving for the very person on whose life the entire drama was founded,’ following the death of the Queen on September 8.
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The spokesperson for his successor as prime minister, Sir Tony Blair, added to the publication: ‘It should come as no surprise that this is complete and utter rubbish.’
Last month Netflix put a disclaimer in the description of its YouTube trailer for the fifth series of The Crown, saying the production is a ‘fictional dramatisation’ and ‘inspired by real events.’
The Crown launches on Netflix on Wednesday, November 9.
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