Prince Harry Actor Luther Ford on Getting Cast Out of Uni

When Luther Ford sent in an audition tape to star in the final season of The Crown, putting his best foot forward to play Prince Harry in Netflix’s hit series, the 23-year-old didn’t expect to land the gig. As a university student studying editing and directing, Ford says he didn’t have professional acting experience or attend any kind of drama school, but his brother’s girlfriend texted him about an open casting call for the role of Harry and encouraged him to give it a go.

“I think she said something along the lines of, ‘It doesn’t hurt to try,’” Ford tells Rolling Stone. “I think I’m both delusional and pessimistic in the sense that I thought on the one hand, this is kind of pointless to audition for The Crown, but on the other hand, you never know. There’s something to be said for naïveté because I think I was fearless because I had nothing to lose.”

Ford ended up booking his first professional acting job on The Crown Season Six, surrounded by acclaimed and talented actors, directors, and filmmakers on set and learning more than he could’ve imagined for himself. This current season of Netflix’s popular show about the monarchy has been highly anticipated because not only is it the show’s final season, but The Crown is finally portraying modern-day figures in the British Royal Family. 

For the burgeoning actor, it was the chance of a lifetime to kick off his career playing Prince Harry in his younger years. Ford opened up about his acting process, what it was like filming with other British acting legends on the set of The Crown, the complicated brother dynamic between Harry and William on the show, and whether or not he thinks Harry will be watching his performance on screen.

Tell me about the casting process. How did you end up landing the role of Harry?
The first thing they asked was to send a video of yourself talking about something you’ve been doing for about 30 seconds, so I talked about playing football. Then I got an email back and they were like, “Are you interested in taping at home with some scripts?” I did two self-tapes and then two in-person auditions with Ed McVey, who had already been cast [as Prince William], but it happened really quickly. For Ed and Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate, that casting process took months. But I think because I came in quite late and they’d been struggling to find someone, I was cast in about three weeks and it was a complete whirlwind. I got cast and then we started filming maybe just over a month later. I essentially left university. I mean, I did end up finishing the degree, but I pretty much left in order to act in this season. It was quite mind-altering and obviously very exciting, but also scary. 

Did you watch The Crown before you decided to audition? Were you already a fan of the show? 
Yeah, I think I’ve seen the first two seasons. I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I’m a fan now, but it wasn’t really something that was on my radar. I think I’ve watched it with my parents and I obviously knew of its reputation and the kind of phenomenon around it. I feel like it’s a very unique show in the sense that it’s just so well-known, even if you haven’t watched it.

Growing up, did you pay attention to the monarchy and the people involved in it? Did the Royal Family hold any significance in your life?
I would say I was always fairly neutral about the Royal Family. I never had an active interest in them, but it’s very surreal because regardless of what you think of them, they’re embedded in British culture. There’s a very complicated and interesting relationship between the Royal Family, the press, and the public, and I think that’s something that [The Crown creator and writer] Peter Morgan is very interested in and wanted to explore. I think the public has quite strong opinions about who these people are, so even if you’re not necessarily engaging with them they’re present culturally. It definitely was surreal. 

You mentioned working alongside Ed McVey, who plays Prince William, and Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate. What was it like to work with the other iconic actors on the set of this show, considering you’re new to the world of entertainment? Did you learn anything on set from them?
It was crazy and intimidating definitely, at first, just in the sense that you’re working with some of the best British actors there are. Especially for me, I came into that not even having come from drama school. But you learn so much just by watching them — I think especially from Imelda Staunton [who plays Queen Elizabeth II], who is just very, very nice. She’s such a professional and that was amazing to see firsthand. Then also, from a filmmaking perspective, working with the directors that we were working with was also incredible — particularly Stephen Daldry, who started the series in the sense that he directed it and came back to direct the final episode. I just felt like, you’re very lucky to be working with all those people. 

In your portrayal of Harry, there’s a lot of focus on his relationship with his brother William. Is that something you thought about or you and Ed spoke about when you were preparing to film?
I think we definitely talked a lot about brotherhood. Ed is a little bit older than me and we slotted very comfortably into that dynamic. I sort of naturally looked up to him because I was kind of like, you went to drama school so you must know what you’re doing, you can surely give me some tips. I guess I felt close enough to him that I could always ask him really basic things, like just breathing during a scene. I remember on my first day, I think it was a dialect coach who came up to me and they were like, “You’re not breathing, just generally, you aren’t breathing.” That was me working out the basics of just being on camera. But I definitely think that we were interested in [portraying] a fairly normal brotherly dynamic that people will recognize but within an institution and the system like the Royal Family, and what that does to a family. I think that’s what Peter [Morgan] is most interested in, is the idea of this being a family and very universal relationships but within the context of something that is alien to practically everyone.

Harry seems to be more playful, innocent, free, fun, and William seems to absorb more pressure and expectations from the rest of the family. There’s a scene at the end of Episode Seven during the holidays when your character delivers a monologue to William about being the “black sheep” of the family whereas William is thought of as “Willy gold-star.” How did you prepare for that monologue? What do you think it says about Harry’s character?
When I first saw that monologue, I was excited but I was scared by the scale of it. It felt like a lot was being said and it’s just not something I’d ever done before. I wasn’t initially sure how to approach it. I feel like I’ve gone through quite a lot with the experience of acting on this show, but sometimes I forget the challenges on a really basic level of someone who hasn’t acted before and then is put in this kind of space where the stakes are quite high. But you’re given such good support, and there are so many people there helping you, including dialect coaches, who take you through each beat, that it felt achievable. It was quite exciting because I think the character is typically playful and cheeky and is offering relief from the more serious things that are going on, then it seemed like Peter [Morgan] was allowing this moment where you get an insight into what he’s going through and what his relationship with William means to him.

Even though Harry and William’s characters are starkly different on screen, they’re also enduring a lot of the same traumas and hardships within their family, like how they grieve for their mother Princess Diana when she dies. What do you think about the difference between the way the brothers grappled with the loss of their mother?
Part of what Peter [Morgan] is interested in throughout the show is, in relation to all things, are the things that aren’t being said. I think there’s always quite a lot of emphasis on that. Often what isn’t directly said is more impactful. These are two brothers who are bonded by a number of very significant events and they’re in a position where they’re the only people that really understand what the other one is going through. Peter [Morgan] was interested in how it can be easiest to hurt the people that you’re closest to that you understand the most. 

It definitely feels like a standout moment for Harry. This season of The Crown depicts the lives of people who are still very much a part of our culture and that we still talk about in the present-day, not just in a historical sense. When you were playing the role of Harry, did you give any thought at all to the possibility of him watching your portrayal of him? 
It’s hard not to think about that. I think one of the biggest challenges, though, is separating that because ultimately when you’re preparing to play someone who is alive, there’s so much about that which is quite overwhelming. There’s also just so much about being on a show like this which can be overwhelming, and you really have to fight quite hard to be focused. Because there’s so much information and media surrounding them, it was important to separate this character and this person. It’s widely acknowledged that this is fiction; it’s not documentary. Up to a point, it’s useful to do all this research, but at some point you do have to put it to one side and think about what Peter [Morgan] has written as characters rather than being stuck on this idea of them as real people. 

In the past, Harry has said he’s watched bits of The Crown. If he does watch you acting as him in Season Six, what do you hope he thinks or takes away from your performance?
I mean, I don’t know what you would take away from it. I suppose I try not to think about that. I don’t know if I would want to watch it [if I were him].

When Luther Ford sent in an audition tape to star in the final season of The Crown, putting his best foot forward to play Prince Harry in Netflix’s hit series, the 23-year-old didn’t expect to land the gig. As a university student studying editing and directing, Ford says he didn’t have professional acting experience or attend any kind of drama school, but his brother’s girlfriend texted him about an open casting call for the role of Harry and encouraged him to give it a go.

“I think she said something along the lines of, ‘It doesn’t hurt to try,’” Ford tells Rolling Stone. “I think I’m both delusional and pessimistic in the sense that I thought on the one hand, this is kind of pointless to audition for The Crown, but on the other hand, you never know. There’s something to be said for naïveté because I think I was fearless because I had nothing to lose.”

Ford ended up booking his first professional acting job on The Crown Season Six, surrounded by acclaimed and talented actors, directors, and filmmakers on set and learning more than he could’ve imagined for himself. This current season of Netflix’s popular show about the monarchy has been highly anticipated because not only is it the show’s final season, but The Crown is finally portraying modern-day figures in the British Royal Family. 

For the burgeoning actor, it was the chance of a lifetime to kick off his career playing Prince Harry in his younger years. Ford opened up about his acting process, what it was like filming with other British acting legends on the set of The Crown, the complicated brother dynamic between Harry and William on the show, and whether or not he thinks Harry will be watching his performance on screen.

Tell me about the casting process. How did you end up landing the role of Harry?
The first thing they asked was to send a video of yourself talking about something you’ve been doing for about 30 seconds, so I talked about playing football. Then I got an email back and they were like, “Are you interested in taping at home with some scripts?” I did two self-tapes and then two in-person auditions with Ed McVey, who had already been cast [as Prince William], but it happened really quickly. For Ed and Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate, that casting process took months. But I think because I came in quite late and they’d been struggling to find someone, I was cast in about three weeks and it was a complete whirlwind. I got cast and then we started filming maybe just over a month later. I essentially left university. I mean, I did end up finishing the degree, but I pretty much left in order to act in this season. It was quite mind-altering and obviously very exciting, but also scary. 

Did you watch The Crown before you decided to audition? Were you already a fan of the show? 
Yeah, I think I’ve seen the first two seasons. I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I’m a fan now, but it wasn’t really something that was on my radar. I think I’ve watched it with my parents and I obviously knew of its reputation and the kind of phenomenon around it. I feel like it’s a very unique show in the sense that it’s just so well-known, even if you haven’t watched it.

Growing up, did you pay attention to the monarchy and the people involved in it? Did the Royal Family hold any significance in your life?
I would say I was always fairly neutral about the Royal Family. I never had an active interest in them, but it’s very surreal because regardless of what you think of them, they’re embedded in British culture. There’s a very complicated and interesting relationship between the Royal Family, the press, and the public, and I think that’s something that [The Crown creator and writer] Peter Morgan is very interested in and wanted to explore. I think the public has quite strong opinions about who these people are, so even if you’re not necessarily engaging with them they’re present culturally. It definitely was surreal. 

You mentioned working alongside Ed McVey, who plays Prince William, and Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate. What was it like to work with the other iconic actors on the set of this show, considering you’re new to the world of entertainment? Did you learn anything on set from them?
It was crazy and intimidating definitely, at first, just in the sense that you’re working with some of the best British actors there are. Especially for me, I came into that not even having come from drama school. But you learn so much just by watching them — I think especially from Imelda Staunton [who plays Queen Elizabeth II], who is just very, very nice. She’s such a professional and that was amazing to see firsthand. Then also, from a filmmaking perspective, working with the directors that we were working with was also incredible — particularly Stephen Daldry, who started the series in the sense that he directed it and came back to direct the final episode. I just felt like, you’re very lucky to be working with all those people. 

In your portrayal of Harry, there’s a lot of focus on his relationship with his brother William. Is that something you thought about or you and Ed spoke about when you were preparing to film?
I think we definitely talked a lot about brotherhood. Ed is a little bit older than me and we slotted very comfortably into that dynamic. I sort of naturally looked up to him because I was kind of like, you went to drama school so you must know what you’re doing, you can surely give me some tips. I guess I felt close enough to him that I could always ask him really basic things, like just breathing during a scene. I remember on my first day, I think it was a dialect coach who came up to me and they were like, “You’re not breathing, just generally, you aren’t breathing.” That was me working out the basics of just being on camera. But I definitely think that we were interested in [portraying] a fairly normal brotherly dynamic that people will recognize but within an institution and the system like the Royal Family, and what that does to a family. I think that’s what Peter [Morgan] is most interested in, is the idea of this being a family and very universal relationships but within the context of something that is alien to practically everyone.

Harry seems to be more playful, innocent, free, fun, and William seems to absorb more pressure and expectations from the rest of the family. There’s a scene at the end of Episode Seven during the holidays when your character delivers a monologue to William about being the “black sheep” of the family whereas William is thought of as “Willy gold-star.” How did you prepare for that monologue? What do you think it says about Harry’s character?
When I first saw that monologue, I was excited but I was scared by the scale of it. It felt like a lot was being said and it’s just not something I’d ever done before. I wasn’t initially sure how to approach it. I feel like I’ve gone through quite a lot with the experience of acting on this show, but sometimes I forget the challenges on a really basic level of someone who hasn’t acted before and then is put in this kind of space where the stakes are quite high. But you’re given such good support, and there are so many people there helping you, including dialect coaches, who take you through each beat, that it felt achievable. It was quite exciting because I think the character is typically playful and cheeky and is offering relief from the more serious things that are going on, then it seemed like Peter [Morgan] was allowing this moment where you get an insight into what he’s going through and what his relationship with William means to him.

Even though Harry and William’s characters are starkly different on screen, they’re also enduring a lot of the same traumas and hardships within their family, like how they grieve for their mother Princess Diana when she dies. What do you think about the difference between the way the brothers grappled with the loss of their mother?
Part of what Peter [Morgan] is interested in throughout the show is, in relation to all things, are the things that aren’t being said. I think there’s always quite a lot of emphasis on that. Often what isn’t directly said is more impactful. These are two brothers who are bonded by a number of very significant events and they’re in a position where they’re the only people that really understand what the other one is going through. Peter [Morgan] was interested in how it can be easiest to hurt the people that you’re closest to that you understand the most. 

It definitely feels like a standout moment for Harry. This season of The Crown depicts the lives of people who are still very much a part of our culture and that we still talk about in the present-day, not just in a historical sense. When you were playing the role of Harry, did you give any thought at all to the possibility of him watching your portrayal of him? 
It’s hard not to think about that. I think one of the biggest challenges, though, is separating that because ultimately when you’re preparing to play someone who is alive, there’s so much about that which is quite overwhelming. There’s also just so much about being on a show like this which can be overwhelming, and you really have to fight quite hard to be focused. Because there’s so much information and media surrounding them, it was important to separate this character and this person. It’s widely acknowledged that this is fiction; it’s not documentary. Up to a point, it’s useful to do all this research, but at some point you do have to put it to one side and think about what Peter [Morgan] has written as characters rather than being stuck on this idea of them as real people. 

In the past, Harry has said he’s watched bits of The Crown. If he does watch you acting as him in Season Six, what do you hope he thinks or takes away from your performance?
I mean, I don’t know what you would take away from it. I suppose I try not to think about that. I don’t know if I would want to watch it [if I were him].