John Lithgow on 'Excitement and Fear' of His Latest Role

— -- At first glance, John Lithgow might seem an unlikely choice to play the role of Winston Churchill. But when you look back on his remarkable career, it's understandable why he was chosen for the part. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Lithgow told ABC News he jumped right into it when he was offered the role in the Netflix series "The Crown."

"It was the most intense combination of excitement and fear because I would never have cast myself as Churchill," Lithgow said in a recent appearance on ABC's "Popcorn With Peter Travers.

"I’m about a foot taller than he was. I’m an American. And I knew it would be top-level, top-crust English actors. But then it occurred to me, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, LBJ, Martin Luther King in recent major American TV and movie productions -- all paid by English actors. So here I am in England playing the ultimate Englishmen. Turnabout is fair play," joked Lithgow.

But because Lithgow's outward appearance does not closely resemble that of Winston Churchill, the makeup and production teams took some creative approaches to achieving the right look.

"I play the part between 73 and 80 so I play him as an old, old man," said Lithgow, adding that he had "some wonderful confederates" within the makeup team to help with the transformation. Lithgow wore a fat suit with a high waist so that he didn't look quite so tall.

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"It was this remarkable wig that made me look even balder than I was with this long lank white hair of Churchill's and these remarkable plumpers. They clicked into my back teeth and swelled my jowls; that and very tight collars to make me look fat. It all worked. And then I stuffed cotton up my nose so I had his strange nasal voice," said Lithgow, impersonating Churchill.

Travers said it felt as if Churchill was in the studio as Lithgow spoke, pointing out it's nearly impossible to typecast Lithgow because of his acting range.

"I do have a target on my back. At some point, they will try," Lithgow, 71, told Travers.

But so far, that just hasn't happened. Lithgow has played an alien, a serial killer, a transvestite, an animated ruler, a judge, a doctor, Shakespeare -- the list goes on and on.

"The thing I love most is to have a wonderful role in a great ensemble of actors," Lithgow said.

He added: "I grew up in a theater family. And my father’s great forte was he created Shakespeare festivals. Growing up, I was in 20 Shakespeare plays by the time I was 20 years old. And if you think of that as the beginning of a character actor’s career, Shakespeare wrote 'Hamlet' but he also wrote '[The] Comedy of Errors.' He wrote 'King Lear,' but he also wrote 'Merry Wives of Windsor.' Whenever I can, I do something as different as possible from the last thing that I did."

And if any further proof was needed, Lithgow wrapped up the interview with an adorable rendition of a children's song he penned and performs called "I'm a Manatee."

Watch the full interview to see Lithgow talk more about the many roles he's played, including a fan favorite in "Third Rock From the Sun."