Netflix’s highly anticipated movie Scoop premiered on Friday and fans went wild over the new drama, hailing it as “absolutely brilliant.”
However, some eagle-eyed fans were a little taken aback by the sight of Gillian Anderson. “Secret nod to The Crown”.
The actress, 55, has taken on the role of renowned journalist Emily Maitlis in the film that recreates the creepy 2019 interview between Emily and Prince Andrew down to the smallest detail.
Previously, Gillian received widespread critical acclaim for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Crown.
And although her physical resemblance to the Scoop journalist is striking, her voice suggested that she had not left her role as the former British prime minister behind.
Scoop fans were left baffled when they saw Gillian Anderson’s ‘secret nod to The Crown’ in the new Netflix drama that premiered on Friday.
Gillian’s physical resemblance to the journalist is striking, but her voice suggested she had not left her role as former British prime minister behind.
Instead of sounding like the former Newsnight presenter, viewers thought she sounded very similar to her role in the Netflix royal drama.
Taking to X, formerly known as a Twitter fan, wrote: ‘Wow! I heard a clip on the radio this morning and without vision I thought Gillian Anderson sounded exactly like Margaret Thatcher.
‘I agree, Gillian Anderson’s voice was horrible. Really unpleasant: she could listen to Margaret Thatcher too.’; ‘Public Service Announcement: Gillian Anderson is voicing Thatcher on SCOOP.’
‘Halfway through and really enjoying it. Although I think Gillian Anderson keeps slipping into her Maggie T voice, which is disconcerting!’; “Gillian Anderson’s hoarse voice while Emily Maitlis sounded half strangled.”
‘Did Gillian Anderson really use her Margaret Thatcher voice when playing Emily Maitlis?’; ‘Has Gillian Anderson just taken on her role as Margaret Thatcher and changed costumes? This was all old news.
Talk TV host Julia Hartley-Brewer gave a scathing review of the film, writing: “While the actual interview with Emily Maitlis was excellent journalism, Scoop is deathly slow and plodding. The star-studded cast is wooden and Gillian Anderson sounds more like Margaret Thatcher than Maitlis You’d better watch the paint dry.
Others wrote: ‘Gillian Anderson makes Emily Maitlis sound like her Margaret Thatcher #Scoop But no’; ‘Watching Scoop, all I see with Gillian Anderson is Margaret Thatcher, not Emily Maitlis.’; “Oh, except Gillian Anderson’s Emily Maitlis is brilliant, but sometimes she’s too much like her Margaret Thatcher.”
Gillian previously admitted she found playing the former Newsnight presenter more daunting than her role as Thatcher.
The actress, 55, has taken on the role of renowned journalist Emily Maitlis in the Netflix film Scoop, which recreates in the most meticulous detail the chilling 2019 interview between Emily and Prince Andrew.
Taking to X, formerly known as a Twitter fan, wrote: ‘Wow! I heard a clip on the radio this morning and without vision I thought Gillian Anderson sounded exactly like Margaret Thatcher.
Talk TV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer gave the film a scathing review
Speaking about the pressure of playing Emily, Gillian confessed: “It was the first time I played a real-life character who is still alive. And I have to say it’s more daunting playing Emily Maitlis than even Margaret Thatcher.
“People know Emily very well, they listen to her every day, they watch her, and they have for years.”
Meanwhile, Gillian took to Instagram on Friday to celebrate the release of Netflix’s Scoop with a series of behind-the-scenes snaps.
She shared a glimpse of the makeup trailer and documented her co-star Rufus Sewell’s transformation into Prince Andrew.
In the snaps, Gillian stands behind the actor, 56, who has prosthetics applied to his face to look like the Duke of York for the film documenting his infamous car crash in the BBC interview.
The duo smile for the camera before, during and after the request, with Gillian also showing off her costume and blonde wig.
The X-Files star captioned the post: ‘Just a simple week of filming (and!) Scoop is out today on Netflix!’
In the interview, which was described as a “car accident”, Emily grilled the Duke about his friendship with deceased sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
Gillian took to Instagram on Friday to celebrate the release of Netflix’s Scoop with a series of behind-the-scenes snaps (pictured with co-star Rufus Sewell while covered in prosthetics to transform into Prince Andrew).
She shared a glimpse of the makeup trailer and documented her co-star Rufus Sewell’s transformation.
Rufus (left) plays the Duke of York in the highly anticipated film
Emily spoke out about Virginia Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under Epstein’s orders.
The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview.
Billie Piper stars alongside Gillian as Newsnight booker Sam, while Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew and Keeley Hawes takes on the role of Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk in the highly anticipated drama.
After the interview, a statement from Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew was suspended from public duties “for the foreseeable future.”
In May 2020, it was announced that the prince would permanently leave public duties.