Who played Margaret Thatcher in The Crown season 4 on Netflix?

Thatcher’s relationship with the monarch will be a central premise of the forthcoming series

As audiences gear up for a fourth season of The Crown, fans are looking forward to seeing beloved cast members Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter return to the small screen.

But no doubt all eyes will be on the show’s newcomers, most notably Gillian Anderson as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The American actor found fame in the early Nineties as special agent Dana Scully on the long-running crowd favourite drama The X-Files – a role which won her both an Emmy and a Golden Globe award.

The 52-year-old is also well-known for her portrayal as socialite Lily Bart in the critically acclaimed 2000 drama The House of Mirth, as well as for her role in the hugely successful BBC production of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, as Lady Dedlock.

Anderson has enjoyed success on stage as well. Her performance in a 2009 production of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House earned the actor her first Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Gillian Anderson and Stephen Boxer as Margaret and Dennis Thatcher (Des Willie/Netflix)

She received a second nod for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire in 2014. Two years later, she received an OBE for her services to drama.

Most recently, the actor took on the role of Jean Milburn in Netflix’s hit comedy-drama Sex Education, for which she received critical praise.

Speaking about the challenges of playing one of Britain’s most controversial leaders, Anderson told Harper’s Bazaar: “I had to get to a point where it’s nothing to do with my opinions of her policies, of her actions. It is only about her as a human being and her motivation as a politician and as a mother.”

Early reviews of the show’s fourth series have commended Anderson’s performance. 

The Independent’s four-star review applauded her for “bringing humanity to one of the most vilified figures in history”.

Other critics have praised her “jaw-dropping” performance, claiming it is even better than Meryl Streep’s, which won the actor an Oscar for The Iron Lady in 2012.

In his verdict on the Netflix programme, journalist Charles Moore – who wrote an authorised biography of Thatcher – called Anderson’s portrayal the “only convincing” one he’s seen to date.  

You can find a full list of The Crown’s season four cast here, including returning faces and newcomers to watch out for.

Series four arrives on Netflix on Sunday 15 November.