Dominic West

English film, television, and theatre actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:English film, television, and theatre actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West** (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in *The Wire* (2002–2008) and Noah Solloway in *The Affair* (2014–2019), the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor at the 2012 British Academy Television Awards for portraying serial killer Fred West in *Appropriate Adult* (2011), and he played Jean Valjean in the 2018 BBC miniseries *Les Misérables*. His film credits include *Chicago* (2002), *300* (2007), *Punisher: War Zone* (2008), *John Carter* (2012), *The Square* (2017), and *Colette* (2018). West now plays the role of Dr Chris Cox in the Sky One series *Brassic*.

## Early life

Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West was born on 15 October 1969 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. He is the sixth of seven siblings (five girls and two boys) born into a family of Irish Catholic descent. His mother, Pauline Mary (*née* Cleary), was an actress, and his father, Thomas George Eagleton West, owned a plastics factory. He is the first cousin once removed of American politician Thomas Eagleton. West attended Eton College and Trinity College, Dublin. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.

## Career

### Film and television

West's screen appearances include *True Blue*, *Chicago*, *Richard III*, and *Mona Lisa Smile*. His most notable television role has been starring in *The Wire* as the American police detective Jimmy McNulty. West was praised for the accuracy of his character's American accent. His debut as a director was while being on *The Wire*; he directed the episode "Took" (2008).

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*. West played "Fred Casely" in 2002 film Chicago.

In 2006 West played the Spartan politician Theron in *300* and made a guest appearance as an actor in a sketch in *The Catherine Tate Show*, alongside "*Frankie Howerd* impressionist". In 2007 he played Detective Poppil in *Hannibal Rising*. West played the disfigured supervillain Jigsaw in the 2008 film *Marvel's Punisher: War Zone*. In 2010 he had a role as General Virilus in Neil Marshall's adventure thriller *Centurion*. West starred in the UK ghost film, *The Awakening*.

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.

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, 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.

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."

In 2012, West was offered the role of Mance Rayder 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. He played gay activist Jonathan Blake in the 2014 film *Pride* about the 1984–1985 miners' strike in the UK. West stars as Noah Solloway on Showtime's series *The Affair*, which premiered October 2014. The series was renewed for a fifth season in 2018.

In 2018 it was reported that West was represented by Tavistock Wood Management.

In 2019, West played the role of Jean Valjean in the BBC's adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables.

### Theatre

As a theatre actor, West has played Edward in Harley Granville Barker's *The Voysey Inheritance* directed by Peter Gill at the Royal National Theatre in 2006. Around 2009, he starred at London's Donmar Warehouse as the protagonist in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Pedro Calderon de la Barca's existential drama *Life Is a Dream*, for which he received glowing reviews.

He took the title role in Simon Gray's classic comedy, *Butley*, playing at the Duchess Theatre in London from 1 June 2011. 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.

In September to October 2012, he starred in Jez Butterworth's *The River* at the Royal Court Theatre in London with Miranda Raison and Laura Donnelly.

From mid December 2012 to January 2013, West starred as Henry Higgins in *My Fair Lady* at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

In 2015–16, he starred alongside Janet McTeer in *Les Liaisons Dangereuses* at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

### 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 and acting through the commitment of justice. 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.

## Charity

West is a supporter of care charity Helen's Trust in response to their assistance to his mother prior to her death.

He led 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.

## Personal life

In 1998, West and his then-girlfriend Polly Astor (daughter of Michael Astor) had a daughter named Martha. West later rekindled his romance with Catherine FitzGerald, whom he had dated at university. The two married in Glin, County Limerick on 26 June 2010, and have four children: Dora, Senan, Francis, and Christabel. FitzGerald, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, is the daughter of Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin and was formerly married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham. West and FitzGerald split their time between a town home in Shepherd's Bush, London and Glin Castle, FitzGerald's childhood home in Ireland.

In August 2014, West was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to *The Guardian* expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

## Honours

* In November 2010, West was awarded an honorary degree for services to the Arts by Sheffield Hallam University.
* In July 2018, it was announced he was to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield.

## References

1. ↑ "Golden Globe actor profile". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. http://www.goldenglobes.com/person/dominic-west. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
2. ↑ "Television Awards Winners in 2012 – TV Awards". http://www.bafta.org/television/awards/nominees-winner-2012,3256,BA.html#jump03. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
3. ↑ "MR DOMINIC GERARD FRANCIS EAGLETON WEST director information. Free director information. Director id 917507291". https://companycheck.co.uk/director/917507291/MR-DOMINIC-GERARD-FRANCIS-EAGLETON-WEST/summary. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
4. ↑ "Dominic West profile". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529091516/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dominic-west/147560. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
5. ↑ Hardy, Rebecca. "My selfish womanising days are over ... thank god!' When he hit the big time with *The Wire*, Dominic West admits he was seduced by the trappings of fame". http://crookedtimber.org/2015/01/29/jonathan-chait-political-correctness-gone-mad-omg-im-scared/comment-page-6/#comment-606743. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
6. ↑ "WEST Moya: Death notice". *irishtimes.com*. http://notices.irishtimes.com/2841953-death-west-moya?s\_source=all.
7. ↑ Template:Cite journal
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Anthony, Andrew (26 October 2008). "Andrew Anthony talks to actor Dominic West", *The Guardian* (London, UK). Retrieved on 10 March 2012.
9. ↑ West's paternal grandfather, Sir Harold Ernest Georges West (1894–1968), was an industrialist; by virtue of his marriage to Winifred Mary, daughter of Thomas Eagleton, of St Louis, Missouri, West's first cousin once removed was the American senator and 1972 Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton. Sir Harold and Winifred West's daughter Gloria married Hugh Clifford Holmes, son of senior Army officer Sir Noel Holmes.
10. ↑ Call Me Tom: The Life of Thomas F. Eagleton, James N. Giglio, University of Missouri Press, 2011, p. 206
11. ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 1, p. 822
12. ↑ Philby, Charlotte (21 March 2009). "My Secret Life: Dominic West, actor, 39", *The Independent* (London, UK). Retrieved on 26 August 2009.
13. ↑ "Dominic West, Class of 1995", Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Retrieved on 29 October 2014.
14. ↑ Levinson, Paul. "McNulty on his fine Baltimore accent". http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2008/02/wire-season-5-episode-7-king-of.html. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
15. ↑ Rohrer, Finlo (30 January 2009). "The good, the bad and the mangled", BBC News. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.
16. ↑ "'The Wire': The Dominic West perspective", *Los Angeles Times* (17 February 2008). Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Template:IMDb name
18. ↑ "Official Domestic One-Sheet: Neil Marshall's Centurion". https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37919/official-domestic-one-sheet-neil-marshalls-centurion. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
19. ↑ "Early Sales Art: The Awakening". 14 May 2010. https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37527/early-sales-art-the-awakening. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
20. ↑ "'The Wire' star Dominic West on Eminem's 'obsessive' love of the show". *Entertainment Weekly*. 28 May 2009. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/05/28/eminem-wire. Retrieved 3 March 2012. "over the phone from London in January while Em was in a Miami studio."
21. ↑ "Drama on 3". BBC Radio 3. 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p69gm. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
22. ↑ "Jump for Latest Centurion Clip". 22 March 2010. https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36530/jump-latest-centurion-clip. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
23. ↑ "TV portrayal of killer leaves daughter scared". Yahoo!. http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/news-extra/article/176427/tv-portrayal-of-killer-leaves-daughter-scared.html. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
24. ↑ Ryan, Maureen (3 August 2012). "'Game Of Thrones': Dominic West Of The 'Wire' Rejected A Role On The HBO Drama", *Huffington Post*. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
25. ↑ "The saints and sinners of St Trinian's". https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-saints-and-sinners-of-st-trinians-6792142.html. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
26. ↑ "BBC One - Les Miserables - Jean Valjean". 14 January 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/508LktgNgByGwKNFGWfd2Gw/jean-valjean. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
27. ↑ "Dominic West on playing Edward Voysey – What's On Extras". National Theatre. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120403032106/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/18069/whats-on-extras/dominic-west-on-playing-edward-voysey.html. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
28. ↑ Spencer, Charles (14 October 2009). ""Telegraph Review of "Life is a Dream"", *The Telegraph* (London, UK). Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
29. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa (20 February 2011). "Dominic West to revive classic stage role", *The Guardian* (London, UK). Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
30. ↑ Benedictus, Leo (22 September 2011). "What to say about ... Othello with Dominic West and Clarke Peters", *The Guardian* (London). Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
31. ↑ Tucker, Matthew (29 October 2012). "Dominic West Stars In The River (REVIEW)". http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/28/the-river-review\_n\_2036119.html. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
32. ↑ BWW News Desk. "Crucible's MY FAIR LADY, Starring Dominic West and Carly Bawden, Aiming for West End, May 2013?". *BroadwayWorld.com*. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Crucibles-MY-FAIR-LADY-Starring-Dominic-West-and-Carly-Bawden-Aiming-for-West-End-May-2013-20130103. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
33. ↑ Trueman, Matt (21 December 2015). "London Theater Review: ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ with Dominic West", *Variety*. Retrieved on 9 August 2017.
34. ↑ "Dominic West – The Carte Noire Readers". http://cartenoire.seigan.se/dominic-west. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
35. ↑ Clark, Sarah (1 April 2012). "Superstar actor back in Sheffield for role that's close to his heart". Retrieved on 29 May 2014.
36. ↑ "Prince Harry completes South Pole charity trek", *Daily News* (New York) (15 December 2013). Retrieved on 15 December 2013.
37. ↑ "Andrew Anthony talks to actor Dominic West", *The Guardian* (London), GMG (26 October 2008). Retrieved on 29 January 2012.
38. ↑ Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, p. 417
39. ↑ https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/glin-castle-preview
40. ↑ "Wire actor West marries long-term Irish partner". *Irish Examiner*. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160111111755/http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/wire-actor-west-marries-long-term-irish-partner-463430.html. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
41. ↑ Cohane, Ondine. "Dominic West’s Cozy and Colorful London Home". http://www.lonny.com/Celebrity+Home/articles/vsSi7sIOuW-/Dominic+West+Cozy+Colorful+London+Home.
42. ↑ Gray, Catriona (30 January 2019). "Inside Glin Castle – home to Dominic West and Catherine FitzGerald". Hearst. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/uk/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/a26064854/inside-glin-castle/.
43. ↑ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories", *The Guardian* (London) (7 August 2014). Retrieved on 26 August 2014.
44. ↑ "The Wire star Dominic West to receive honorary degree", *BBC News* (London, UK) (4 October 2010).
45. ↑ "Award-winning actor to be honoured by the University of Sheffield". The University of Sheffield. 13 July 2018. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/honorary-graduates-dominic-west-sheffield-honours-life-career-1.792850. Retrieved 17 July 2018.

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