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We are confident that should he ever find this column, he will find it both confusing and mortifying.
I have always considered Matt Berry to be the U.K.s answer to John Lithgow.
Allow me to explain.
Both mens comedic appeal lies in their subversion of the high-status attributes they embody within their respective cultures.
These are people whose business it is to mock the qualities we consider powerful in men.
This is why Matt Berry and only Matt Berry can bring Prime Minister Boris Johnson to life onThe Crown.
It may seem as though Im getting really ahead of myself with this.
But this is one of the biggest, most expensive television shows in history.
Netflix claimsThe Crownwill conclude after season six, but thats also what it saidabout season five.
WhenGame of Thronesreached the end of its source material, they simply made the episodeseven longer.
And now theyremaking prequels!
So I contend that Netflix will want more;wewill want more.
Whether thats more seasons or simply some kind ofEl Caminomovie epilogue, who can say?
Berry has been preparing for this role his entire life.
When you think of Johnson, youre probably tempted to reduce him to a British version of Donald Trump.
But Johnson has always seemed far more calculating.
Simply put: Boris Johnson is a clown.
Its an obvious through line in every character he embodies.
And even then, you still may like them.
A perfect example of this quality isSnuff Box, which Berry created with Rich Fulcher in the early aughts.
But the scene below displays how good Berry is at switching from charming to vile and back again.
He does nothing good in this scene, yet hes still somehow likable.
It would be far harder thanrestagingThe Phantom of the Operaorplaying Batman.
He would also have to wear a wig and bleach his eyebrows.
His voice, I think, actually works.
It doesnt sound exactly like Johnsons, but the beauty of Berrys Johnson would be in his interpretation.
Shell never see it coming.
The Johnson that Berry could create is an actual devil.
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