Challenging to be alpha man and walk behind your wife: Tobias Menzies on playing Prince Philip

His emotional contradictions as he juggles between being the head of the family and the husband to British monarch Queen Elizabeth II for the world, makes Prince Philip one of the most complex characters in "The Crown", says Tobias Menzies.

The British actor, who has replaced Matt Smith as Prince Philip in the third season of the Netflix series, believes the latest installment of the critically-acclaimed royal drama delves deep into the psyche of the Duke of Edinburgh.

"Prince Philip is an alpha man, who has spent his life walking two steps behind his wife. And I can sense, it comes as a challenge to him but he is still running the show.

"What I read is that, in their domestic life, he is the head of the family but on the other hand, it is different in front of the world. There is this interesting contradiction that he wrestles with," Menzies told PTI in an interview with select media here.

The actor said Prince Philip is an emotional man but the position he holds in the public eye didn't allow him to express himself or do what he desires.

"Philip is someone who is very emotional. I have seen his interviews and there is a lot going on even if he is not saying it. He doesn't allow himself to show his emotions. So, it is difficult to express him on screen and that makes him one of the most interesting and complex characters in the show."
"So taking that information and figuring out how he looks like when he is flirty, or angry, or sad, was a task. We don't have a lot of that on film so, it was a little bit of a challenge. I need to keep it true to him as well."