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Claire Foy wont let Queen Elizabeth role define her whole life

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Claire Foy wont let Queen Elizabeth role define her (Picture: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP/Getty Images)

First Man star Claire Foy put down her tiara instead to play Neil Armstrongs chainsmoking wife and insists that her iconic role in The Crown has not defined her as an actress.

Stripping away the jewels and ditching her regal English accent, the 34-year-old feels honoured that people adored her in the role as Queen Elizabeth.

I dont feel like Im defined by playing Queen Elizabeth, she told People magazine.

Its a huge honour that people liked that character and therefore see me as that character. So, Im not trying to actively go against that.

Series three of the Netflix show will feature a new cast as they move to a different period of the monarchs life.

But as she looks forward, theres not much stopping her from taking on really challenging roles.

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My career is only for me, really, she said.

I cant do it for anybody else and so the choices and decisions I make are purely based on what I want to do. Thats it really. Its a really selfish thing.

The actress recently opened about about her struggle with anxiety that even makes it hard for her to decide what to have for dinner.

Claire admitted her battle with the mental health condition has been a real struggle as anything can trigger it, including the simplest of things such as whether she should eat a potato or a hamburger for her dinner.

Speaking on Scandinavian talk show Skavlan, she said: You could have anxiety about whether you should have a potato or a hamburger for dinner. That would be anxious for me. Is the potato the right choice? Is the burger the right choice? Thats how anxiety works, it doesnt have to be based on anything extreme. Its definitely not rational.

This isnt the first time the Crown star has spoken about her anxiety either, as she previously stated that whilst she has been
fighting the illness for many years, she has found her condition has worsened since becoming an actress and finding fame.

She said: “When you have anxiety, you have anxiety about – I dont know – crossing the road.

The thing about it is, its not related to anything that would seem logical. Its purely about that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the feeling that you cant, because youre “this” or youre
“that”. Its my mind working at a thousand beats a second, and running away with a thought.

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More: Netflix

And the First Man actress says she even suffered a breakdown in her early 20s when she couldnt cope with her own mental health.

She said: When I was 23, I had a breakdown. I didnt sleep or eat for a month. It was awful. My life had changed. I felt overwhelmed. I was on stage at the time and working, and Id just got a really big job
[the lead in the BBCs Little Dorrit]. I just couldnt cope.

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