Matt Smith learned a lot about British history while filming 'The Crown'.
Matt Smith
The 34-year-old actor portrays Prince Philip in the 20-part Netflix saga and was "fascinated" by the life of his character and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, while doing his research for the role.
He said: "I learnt a lot about the history of my own country.
"Philip's story and this story about the royal family is really so fascinating."
And his co-star Claire Foy, who plays the monarch, was equally enthralled.
She told Britain's HELLO! magazine: "We are used to having the royal family there and you sort of take them for granted.
"But the more research I did about the queen, the more I was surprised and the more my admiration grew."
The drama will show how Philip has helped modernise the royal family, and Matt thinks it will surprise a lot of people.
He said: "What's interesting is the Prince Philip we now know and the prince Philip we perhaps knew then are two different men, which we see.
"we get to understand where they came from a bit more.
"I often play outsiders and he is very much the outsider.
"He was the voice of dissent in that family but he was also a brilliant father and well-respected in the Navy."
And the actor insists viewers don't have to be big royal family fans to enjoy the series.
He said: "The writing is respectful but not overly reverential.
"It's honest about the human traits of these people and we, as actors, have to interpret that as honestly and bravely as we can.
"It is hard when you are interpreting real people, but ultimately we grew to really understand them and even to love them."
Tagged in Matt Smith