Claire Foy shares rare views on typecasting amid new gig

Claire Foy has reflected on typecasting in the industry. 

As fans will know, Claire Foy portrayed Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn in the historical drama Wolf Hall, alongside her acclaimed turn as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown.

Speaking to Radio Times magazine, the actress admitted that she has little interest in being typecast as a posh English woman.

“There aren't that many queens and I did two of them! I think any more would be weird,” Foy said candidly.

She went on to reflect on how casting perceptions can shape an actor's career, particularly as they grow older and seek more varied roles.

“You get offered what people think you're capable of. The goal as you get older is for that to be broader, not narrower,” she explained.

Speaking of her latest film, H Is for Hawk, the actress admitted she was initially apprehensive about working so closely with the notoriously difficult birds as she portrays the role of Helen Macdonald. 

The flick sees her as a woman who finds solace in caring for a goshawk following the death of her father.

“I was nervous! Goshawks are the most difficult birds to handle. Our bird trainers Rose and Lloyd Buck said, ‘Claire will get footed’, which is basically when the bird claws you, ‘because a goshawk has never not footed a falconer,’” she recalled.

“And our director (Philippa Lowthorpe) had to say, ‘No, she won't!’, because otherwise we wouldn't get insured,” Foy concluded.