Biography for
Dominic West More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Height

Trivia

Was one of seven children - five girls, two boys - born to George and Moya West - his parents divorced in 1996.

His father owned a plastics-manufacturing plant and his mother was a homemaker who loved the theatre.

Began appearing in community theatre at age 9.

Once spent four months as a cattle herder in Argentina in 1988 trying to be "different." Afterwards he enrolled at Dublin's Trinity College, graduating in 1993 with a B.A. in English literature.

Graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.

Attended "School of Kings" Eton College, Berkshire. When he was in his first year, he boldly asked the Head of Drama for a part in the school play. The teacher was so amused that he cast him as the prostitute. Also schooled there, though two years behind, was "Band of Brothers" and "Life" star Damian Lewis.

Is of Irish descent.

Personal Quotes

I don't know why British actors are getting big parts in American TV shows. Maybe it's because we're cheap.

I went to America to get away from constantly being cast in costume dramas, playing posh people. It's interesting that I've been cast as a working-class cop ["The Wire" (2002)] because I doubt that would happen at home. The films I most enjoy in England are by Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, but it's very unlikely I would be cast in them; I've tried a few times, but I'm perceived as posh.

[on "The Wire" (2002)] The show provokes a kind of obsessive following. Those who love it kind of cherish the fact that it's not quite as world-renowned as "The Sopranos" (1999). It's like being in a secret club.

[on Mona Lisa Smile (2003)] The movie didn't make much sense. We would be given new scenes to film out of the blue which, it transpired, had been written by Julia's agent, who was doubling as a producer. I don't know what anyone was doing there. No one seemed to enjoy it. Especially not Julia. She had just got married and just wanted to be off having sex with her husband. Trouble was, she had married the cameraman on the movie. You can't really relax in a sex scene when the husband is staring right at you.

If you turn on American TV, there's a huge choice of nothing you want to see and, unfortunately, I think that's the case here now as well. I love costume drama, no-one does it like the BBC - no-one has the money to do it, first of all and, secondly, Americans don't have the history to do it. So we do it brilliantly but if you talk to any BBC producers, they abhor the fact... they're dying to do "The Wire" (2002) and hate doing "Cranford" (2007) . I thought "Cranford" (2007) was incredible but we don't seem to be able to do contemporary stuff.

Where Are They Now

(February 2007) Appearing as 'Jan' in the play "Rock & Roll" at the Duke of York Theatre in London.

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