‘The Crown’ Actor James Murray Says He Had “Great Fun” Playing Disgraced Prince Andrew

James Murray, the actor who portrays the disgraced Prince Andrew in Season 5 of The Crown, has commented on what it was like to play the part in the Netflix series.

Among the many controversies that gripped the British Royal Family during the 1990s was one that came to light almost two decades later, when Prince Andrew’s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell (who was convicted of sex trafficking last December) was eventually exposed in the press.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, sued Prince Andrew in civil court for sexual assault, destroying his public standing. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, stripped him of his many patronages and military titles before she died and, despite denying any wrongdoing and ultimately settling with Giuffre, Andrew is still effectively banished from public life.

Despite Prince Andrew’s public fallout, Murray says there was no apprehension about stepping into the disgraced royal’s shoes. “My thoughts were, ‘Great, fantastic,’” he told Variety. “This is going to be a lot of fun.”

“The material is brilliant,” Murray added. “And apprehension with regards to what is going on with Andrew in the press? Not really, because the first thing to do was to divorce myself from all that and just treat it as white noise and crack on with the material that was put in front of me. I’m very honored and privileged to have been offered the role. And it was great fun playing it.”

Murray says when he received an email from his agent asking him to audition for the part, he replied: “I think you’ve sent it to the wrong person.” After being persuaded he was indeed the correct recipient, Murray filmed his audition tape.

“The tape still exists,” Murray laughs. “It’s very funny actually. We did it and I showed it to Robson and the first thing he said was, ‘You’ve rung the bell there, mate. You’ll be asked to go to London by the end of the week.’ And he was right.”

Season 5 of The Crown stays away entirely from Andrew’s misadventures, except for a chat he has with Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) discussing his failing marriage to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. He warns his mother that the press have photographs of Sarah getting her toes sucked by her “financial advisor.”

If Peter Morgan had decided to dramatize Andrew’s controversies, Murray said he’d be up for the challenge. “I mean, don’t judge me on this, but I quite enjoy playing challenging or polarizing roles, or certainly scenes that could divide an audience, because I think that’s fun,” he says. “And I think, from an actor’s point of view, in my career when I’ve been given scenes that have been shocking or divisive or will court controversy or reaction, they’re the fun scenes. But I know that’s not for every actor.”

“So if I’d have been given those scenes, or indeed if those scenes come up in Season 6, I’ll enjoy them. I’ll relish them,” he adds. “Because we’re doing TV drama and it’s not a documentary. So, from an actor’s point of view, it’s a joy to play.”