Claire Foy reveals she left The Crown for the sake of her 'own sanity' after two years playing the Queen on the hit Netflix show
It was the role that thrust her into the spotlight and won her a slew of awards, both here and across the Atlantic.
But after two seasons on The Crown, Claire Foy said she was happy to leave the show and 'end' her role as Queen Elizabeth II to preserve her own 'sanity'.
The British actress, 39, who played the role of the late monarch in the critically acclaimed show, said she “let it go as soon as the decision was made to leave the show.”
Ms. Foy, who won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the performance, left the program at the height of its success and was succeeded by Olivia Colman.
“I have a lot of love for the people who are still doing the show, but for my own sanity, when I ended it, I ended it,” she said People magazine.
After two seasons on The Crown, Claire Foy said she was happy to leave the show and “end” her role as Queen Elizabeth II to preserve her own “sanity.”
The British actress played the role of the late monarch in the critically acclaimed show
'I let it go and moved on and I think that's quite healthy.'
Despite her desire to move on from the glossy Netflix hit, it seems she hasn't been able to completely put it behind her after a flashback cameo last year and an upcoming one in the final episodes.
She previously said that while she was “very proud” of the role she won in 2016, she was keen to continue with her career.
“I don't feel like I'm defined by playing Queen Elizabeth,” she said after stepping down in 2017.
“It's a huge honor that people liked that character and therefore see me as that character. So I try not to actively go against that.'
She added: “My career is really just for me. I can't do it for anyone else and so the choices and decisions I make are purely based on what I want to do. That's it really. It's really selfish.'
The actress has since starred in a number of popular big-screen films, including the role of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider's Web and Neil Armstrong's wife Janet in First Man.
All Of Us Strangers dominated the competition at the British Independent Film Awards (LR) on Sunday Jamie Bell, Graham Broadbent, Andrew Scott, Sarah Harvey, Andrew Haigh and Claire Foy
She stars in the upcoming All of Us Strangers, opposite Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, which is tipped for an Oscar nomination.
Ms Foy starred opposite Matt Smith as Prince Philip for the first two seasons, followed by Ms Colman and Tobias Menzies and now Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce.
Each star played their role for two seasons before being replaced by older actors and actresses to continue the story a few years later.
The final episodes of the show are released on Thursday and follow Prince William and Kate Middleton's blossoming romance and the aftermath of Princess Diana's tragic death.