Netflix has cast Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary) in the role of Prime Minister John Major for season five of The Crown, according to Deadline. The penultimate season is slated to begin filming in July.
Miller joins a slew of big-name British actors announced for the upcoming season, including Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) as the Queen, Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as Princess Margaret, Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) as Prince Philip, Elizabeth Debicki (Tenant) as Princess Diana and Dominic West (The Affair) as Prince Charles, according to Deadline.
Deadline reports that season five will include the story of Princess Diana’s famed BBC Panorama interview that aired in 1995. In the interview, Diana spoke candidly about having an affair, her eating disorder and her marriage to Prince Charles.
John Major became Prime Minister following Margaret Thatcher’s resignation in 1990, serving in the role until 1997.
First premiering on Netflix in 2016, creator Peter Morgan’s (Frost/Nixon) The Crown quickly established itself as prestige TV after receiving critical praise and awards recognition in its first season. The focus of the series is a fictional take on the history of the royal family through the decades, although the prime minister role is often prominently featured in the plot. John Lithgow won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the show’s first season, and Gillian Anderson won a Golden Globe Award for her turn as Thatcher last year.
Miller played Sherlock Holmes opposite Lucy Liu’s (Southland) Dr. Watson in Elementary, which ran for seven seasons on CBS. He has starred in television series like Eli Stone, Dexter and Smith. Miller’s film appearances include the cult classic Trainspotting, Hackers and Byzantium.