For a historical drama, there is nothing that beats The Crown for its dedication to the little details. For instance, it was Prince Philip’s beard sported by Matt Smith during the second season that received much attention from fans and critics alike. The Matt Smith beard did not come just for aesthetics; it held deep meaning to the character and the actor.
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The Man Behind the Beard: Matt Smith
Matt Smith, who had played the Eleventh Doctor in “Doctor Who,” gave Prince Philip in The Crown a certain depth. His performance was subtle and deep, capturing the Duke of Edinburgh at one of the most tumultuous periods in his life. Another layer of authenticity and ruggedness added to his portrayal was the Matt Smith beard he sported for the role.
Symbolism of the Beard
During the second season of The Crown, Prince Philip embarked on a tour of the Commonwealth solo. During this time of separation from his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, this was portrayed as a moment of personal and professional tests for Philip.
There was also the Matt Smith beard, which was very different from Philip’s clean-shaven look for most of his life. It showed trouble inside and a desire to get away. It turned into the real thing that he was trying to make for himself away from the shadow of his wife’s rule.
Matt Smith’s View
For Matt Smith, growing the beard was way more than a character choice: it became a transformative experience for him. In interviews, Smith mentioned that the Matt Smith beard was what helped get him into character, the tangible link to the actual historical figure he was depicting. He could get to know an entirely different side of Prince Philip that the majesty of the throne often kept hidden.
Many discussions in the fan group followed when Smith grew his beard because it added much-needed authenticity to his character.
Public Reaction:
There were mixed reactions from those in the crowd regarding the beard of Prince Philip, some people liking how their character’s journey was taken very realistically, while others simply shocked at how much everyone had changed. However as the season went on, the Matt Smith beard became an important feature in Philip’s story to make his character arc of value.
The beard, too, brought attention to how Matt Smith had to transform himself physically for the role, making the performance more real. The Matt Smith beard brought a lot of discussion between fans and critics, and it made Smith even more of a versatile actor.
The Historical Context
In fact, Prince Philip sported a beard throughout the 1956 Commonwealth tour, as depicted in The Crown. This was captured wonderfully and added another degree of historical accuracy. Its addition to how Philip looked was also a fitting example of just how much the show focuses on getting everything right with how things went.
By including this history, The Crown gave the audience a preview of a lesser-known period in Prince Philip’s life. It provided a kind of background to the plight of his character and further enriched the storyline to add more relatability to the audience.
Conclusion
The Matt Smith beard in The Crown was more than a facial characteristic; it symbolized transformation, struggle, and identity. It made it authentic to portray Prince Philip and sparked debate between audiences and critics. As reviewed from this iconic look backwards, it’s quite certain that the beard was majorly part of the transformation of the character and represented the dedication of the artist to his work.
While the Matt Smith beard was just a little detail, it made a big difference to the whole storyline of The Crown. In this regard, it reminded everyone of its commitment to the historical aspects, especially on bringing into the screen complicated characters. This added another layer to the already good performance by Matt Smith since the beard would be the bridge uniting the actor with the historic figure he is portraying.
