Claire Foy was paid less than Matt Smith for The Crown

She was an unknown. Now she's not.

Market forces. He was well-known because of Doctor Who. The most high profile job she'd done before The Crown was a supporting role in Wolf Hall. They were very likely signed up for the first two series', similar to Olivia Colman signing up for seasons three and four - if there's a small chance that they were signed up for the first series with an option for the second, then sure the pay gap for their work in season two is pretty disgusting.

C'mon, Foy being an unknown is no excuse. Matt Smith was last seen on Doctor Who and never did anything to prove he was a draw ever since, nor during his run on the show. I love Doctor Who and I only found out he was on The Crown when I started watching the show. He's not even in the marketing of The Crown, it was always all about Queen E. and the newbie who plays her. So yeah, he was virtually unknown as well, and that's season 1. For season 2, Foy was without any doubts the main draw, and she became a star. That's really some bullshit on Netflix.

How many actors from the major cast went to become a huge draw after that? Tennant and Eccleston were Marvel B-villains. Karen Gillan, Billie Piper and Arthur Darvill only had parts in minor TV shows. Even Smith himself only had his supporting part in The Crown as the only relevant thing he did post-DW years after that. And the list goes on... If Matt Smith was such a big star, why wasn't he in at least one poster? The pay-gap between him and Foy was really uncalled-for.

You're being disingenuous about Smith's role as it's pretty much a co-lead role with Foy. He was also the first (and to date only) actor who was nominated for a BAFTA for Doctor Who - not even Peter Capaldi (BAFTA nominated seven times, winning twice) could do that.

Well, there is a logic behind this. Matt Smith is better known before The Crown than Claire Foy.

Less known actor gets paid less. That's a scandal alright.