Dominic West
| Dominic West | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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West at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival. | |||
| Born |
15 October 1969 Sheffield, Yorkshire, England | ||
| Occupation | Actor | ||
| Years active | 1991–present | ||
| Spouse(s) | Catherine FitzGerald (m. 2010) | ||
| Children | 5 | ||
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Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West[2] (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire, and won the award for Leading Actor at the 2012 British Academy Television Awards for portraying serial killer Fred West in Appropriate Adult.[3]
Early life
West was born into an Irish Catholic family[4][5] in Sheffield, Yorkshire, the son of Moya (Cleary), a housewife, and George West, who owned a plastics factory.[6][7] He attended Eton College and Trinity College, Dublin.[4][8][9] He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.[10]
Career
Film and TV
West made his debut in 1991 in a short called 3 Joes. His other screen appearances include True Blue, Chicago, Richard III (1995 film) and Mona Lisa Smile. His most notable television role has been as the American police detective Jimmy McNulty on the HBO television police drama The Wire, set in Baltimore, Maryland. West was praised for the accuracy of his character's American accent.[11][12]
During his stint on The Wire, West directed the season 5 episode, "Took".[13]
West starred as Lysander in the 1999 film version of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream . In feature films, he portrayed the heavy metal guitarist Kirk Cuddy in the 2001 film Rock Star. In 2006 West made a guest appearance as an actor in a sketch in The Catherine Tate Show, alongside "Frankie Howerd impressionist". In 2007, he played the Spartan politician Theron in 300 and a detective in Hannibal Rising. West played the villain, Jigsaw, in the 2008 film Punisher: War Zone. In 2010 he had a role as General Virilus in Neil Marshall's adventure thriller Centurion.[14] West stars in the UK ghost film, The Awakening.[15]
West has done other work on TV and radio. He appeared in the role of Oliver Cromwell in the Channel 4 series The Devil's Whore. He also performed as "Dr. West", the opening track on Eminem's 2009 album Relapse, as a doctor discharging Eminem from a rehab facility. West played the part over the phone in January 2009 while Eminem was recording it in a Miami studio.[16]
In December 2009, West starred as Hank in a radio adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's expressionist play The Hairy Ape for BBC Radio 3,[17] was a guest presenter on the BBC show Have I Got News for You, and ended the year alongside Joan Rivers and Sarah Jessica Parker with an appearance on Graham Norton's New Year's Eve Show.[18]
In 2011, West appeared as a news presenter on the BBC-TV period drama series The Hour. He also played serial killer Fred West in the ITV two-part series Appropriate Adult, giving a performance that the serial killer's daughter described as capturing the "evil essence of [Fred West] - his character, his mannerisms, even his gait."[19]
In 2012, West was offered a role in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, but turned it down due to the amount of time he would have to spend away from his family.[20]
He currently stars as Noah Solloway on Showtime's series "The Affair", which premiered October 2014.
Theatre
As a theatre actor, West has appeared as Konstantin in the Peter Hall-directed The Seagull (1996) at the Old Vic. In 2005, he returned to the stage to play Orlando in David Lan's As You Like It at the Wyndham's Theatre in London. He played Edward in Harley Granville Barker's The Voysey Inheritance directed by Peter Gill at the Royal National Theatre in 2006.[21] In late 2006 and early 2007, he played the lead role of Jan in Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll in London's West End.
Continuing his theatre work, he starred at London's Donmar Warehouse as the protagonist in Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s existential drama Life Is a Dream, for which he received glowing reviews.[22]
He took the title role in Simon Gray's classic comedy, Butley, playing at the Duchess Theatre in London from 1 June 2011.[23] In the September he returned to his native Sheffield to play Iago to his former Wire co-star Clarke Peters's Othello at the Crucible Theatre.[24]
From mid December 2012 to January 2013, West starred as Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.[25]
Advertising
In 2009, West starred in a series of online films known as "The Carte Noire Readers". Made to promote French coffee brand Carte Noire, they consist of actors reading love scenes from a selection of sources. West reads extracts from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence; High Fidelity by Nick Hornby; The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; Life Class by Pat Barker; The Moment You Were Gone by Nicci Gerrard; and Something Childish But Very Natural by Katherine Mansfield.[26]
Personal life
In 1998, West and his then-girlfriend Polly Astor (the daughter of Michael Astor) had a daughter named Martha.[27] The two broke up when Martha was three.
West later rekindled his romance with Catherine FitzGerald whom he had dated at university. West and FitzGerald married in Glin, County Limerick, Ireland, on 26 June 2010.[28] They have four children together: Dora, Senan, Francis and Rose.[29] FitzGerald is an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, the daughter of Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin, and was formerly married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham.[4][30]
West has become a supporter of care charity Helen's Trust in response to their assistance to his mother prior to her death.[31]
West was the leader of Team Canada/Australia for Walking with the Wounded, a fundraising event for wounded soldiers. He trekked to the South Pole against Team UK (led by Prince Harry) and Team America (led by Alexander Skarsgård). A few days into the trek, it was decided that the competition part of the race would be cancelled due to hazardous terrain and weather conditions, so the teams combined forces and continued. Alongside Harry, Skarsgård, and several wounded soldiers, West successfully made it to the South Pole on 13 December 2013.[32]
In August 2014, West was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[33]
Honours
- In November 2010, West was awarded an honorary degree for services to the Arts by Sheffield Hallam University.[34]
- In November 2011, he was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin, where he had earlier graduated with a degree in English.[35]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3 Joes | Joe Smoker | Short film |
| 1995 | Richard III | Henry, Earl of Richmond | |
| 1996 | True Blue | Donald Macdonald | |
| 1996 | Surviving Picasso | Paulo Picasso | |
| 1996 | E=mc2 | Spike | |
| 1997 | The Gambler | Alexei | |
| 1997 | Diana & Me | Rob Naylor | |
| 1997 | Spice World | Photographer | |
| 1998 | Out of Hours | Dr. Paul Featherstone | Television movie |
| 1999 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace | Palace Guard | |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol | Fred | Television movie |
| 2000 | 28 Days | Jasper | |
| 2001 | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Sir Mulberry Hawk | Television movie |
| 2001 | Rock Star | Kirk Cuddy | |
| 2002 | Ten Minutes Older | Young Man | |
| 2002 | Chicago | Fred Casely | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
| 2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Bill Dunbar | |
| 2004 | The Forgotten | Ash Correll | |
| 2006 | Stingray | Luther | Short film |
| 2007 | Hannibal Rising | Inspector Popil | |
| 2007 | 300 | Theron | |
| 2008 | Hold On | Delivery Man | Short film |
| 2008 | Punisher: War Zone | Billy/Jigsaw | |
| 2009 | Breaking the Mould | Howard Florey | Television movie |
| 2010 | Centurion | General Titus Flavius Virilus | |
| 2010 | Jackboots on Whitehall | Fiske | |
| 2010 | Words of the Blitz | Sir John Colville | |
| 2010 | From Time to Time | Caxton | |
| 2011 | Johnny English Reborn | Simon Ambrose | |
| 2011 | Arthur Christmas | Lead Elf | |
| 2011 | The Awakening | Robert Mallory | |
| 2012 | John Carter | Sab Than | |
| 2013 | Boy Cried Wolf | Hughie | Short film |
| 2013 | Burton & Taylor | Richard Burton | Television movie Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 2014 | Pride | Jonathan Blake | |
| 2015 | Testament of Youth | Mr. Brittain | Filming |
| 2016 | Finding Dory | Jinx | Voice |
| 2016 | Genius | Ernest Hemingway | Filming |
| 2016 | Money Monster | Filming | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2008 | The Wire | Detective James McNulty | 60 episodes |
| 2006 | The Catherine Tate Show | Actor | Episode: "#3.5" |
| 2008 | The Devil's Whore | Oliver Cromwell | 4 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | The Hour | Hector Madden | 12 episodes Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Movie/Miniseries Actor (2013, 2014) |
| 2011 | Appropriate Adult | Fred West | 2 episodes |
| 2014–present | The Affair | Noah Solloway | 10 episodes Nominated–Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama |
References
- ↑ "Dominic West". Front Row Interviews. 3 July 2011. BBC Radio 4 Extra. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ↑ http://directors.findthecompany.co.uk/l/8373352/Mr-Dominic-Gerard-Francis-Eagleton-West
- ↑ "Television Awards Winners in 2012 - TV Awards - Television - The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Andrew Anthony (26 October 2008). "Andrew Anthony talks to actor Dominic West | Television & radio | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑ Wilde, Jon (19 July 2009). "Taking it to The Wire with Dominic West". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ↑ http://notices.irishtimes.com/2841953-death-west-moya?s_source=all
- ↑ Gliatto, Tom (5 August 2002). "Deceptive Detective". People Magazine. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ↑ Philby, Charlotte (21 March 2009). "My Secret Life: Dominic West, actor, 39". London: Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ↑ Emily Sheridan (9 March 2012). "Dominic West: 'Old Etonian is a stigma slightly above paedophile' | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑ "Dominic West, Class of 1995". Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ Levinson, Paul; "McNulty on his fine Baltimore accent" PaulLevinson.blogspot.com (Retrieved: 26 August 2009)
- ↑ Rohrer, Finlo; Fraser, Katie (30 January 2009). "UK | Magazine | The good, the bad and the mangled". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑ "'The Wire': The Dominic West perspective - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. 17 February 2008.
- ↑ "Official Domestic One-Sheet: Neil Marshall's Centurion". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ↑ "Early Sales Art: The Awakening". Dreadcentral.com. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ↑ "'The Wire' star Dominic West on Eminem's 'obsessive' love of the show". Entertainment Weekly. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
over the phone from London in January while Em was in a Miami studio.
- ↑ "Drama on 3". BBC Radio 3. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ↑ "Jump for Latest Centurion Clip". Dreadcentral.com. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ↑ "TV portrayal of killer leaves daughter scared". Yahoo!. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ↑ Ryan, Maureen (3 August 2012). "'Game Of Thrones': Dominic West Of The 'Wire' Rejected A Role On The HBO Drama". Huffington Post.
- ↑ "Dominic West on playing Edward Voysey - What's On Extras". National Theatre. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑ Spencer, Charles (14 October 2009). ""Telegraph Review of "Life is a Dream"". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa (20 February 2011). "Dominic West to revive classic stage role". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
- ↑ Benedictus, Leo (22 September 2011). "What to say about ... Othello with Dominic West and Clarke Peters". London: the Guardian. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
- ↑ Crucible's MY FAIR LADY, Starring Dominic West and Carly Bawden, Aiming for West End, May 2013?
- ↑ "Dominic West reads sexy scenes" Mirror.co.uk 8 July 2009 (Retrieved: 26 August 2009)
- ↑ "Andrew Anthony talks to actor Dominic West | Television & radio | The Observer". London: GMG. 26 October 2008. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ↑ "Wire actor West marries long-term Irish partner | Irish Examiner". Examiner.ie. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑ "Dominic West is a dad again". Express. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ↑ Kay, Richard (5 March 2009). "Party over for fixer to the stars". The Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ Clark, Sarah (1 April 2012). "Superstar actor back in Sheffield for role that's close to his heart". ITV. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ↑ "Prince Harry completes South Pole charity trek". Daily News (New York). 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ↑ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ↑ "The Wire star Dominic West to receive honorary degree". BBC News (London). 4 October 2010.
- ↑ O'Connell, Edel (23 November 2011). "Wire' star pays tributes to wife as he visits alma mater". Irish Independent (Dublin).
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dominic West. |
| Preceded by Patrick Brennan |
Henry VII actor 1995 |
Succeeded by Aidan Quinn |
| Preceded by Ross Yearsley |
Lysander actor (from A Midsummer Night's Dream) 1999 |
Succeeded by Ashley Wood |
| Preceded by Martin Hyder |
Oliver Cromwell actor 2008 |
Incumbent |
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