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Where else you’ve seen Dominic West, ‘The Crown’s’ new Prince Charles

He called his "Crown" character "a fascinating man."

Dominic West calls Prince Charles, his character in Seasons Five and Six of "The Crown," a "fascinating man."

"It’s a fascinating life, and a fascinating role,” West said of his high-profile character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in October.

West inherited the role from Josh O’Connor, who played a younger version of the royal in earlier seasons. Season Five of “The Crown" opens with a time jump to the ‘90s, and explores the build up to Charles' separation from Princess Diana, who married in 1981 at age 32 and 20 respectively, and their divorce in 1996.

This season also sees Charles looking ahead to his time as king and managing his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now queen consort.

(L) Prince Charles. (R) Dominic West as Prince Charles.
(L) Prince Charles. (R) Dominic West as Prince Charles.Getty Images, Netflix

As interesting as he finds the royal, West said he almost turned down the part because he felt he didn't look the part.

“I said, ‘You’ve got the wrong guy, I don’t look anything like him,’” West told Entertainment Weekly.

"I was slightly in despair. How was I going to get the physicality of this guy,” he continued, “because the only time I really look like Charles is from behind because the hair is just perfect.”

Clearly, though, he made it work. Below, read more on what the British actor has been in before "The Crown."

'The Wire'

"The Wire" is a five-season drama set in Baltimore that first premiered in 2002 on HBO. West played Jimmy McNulty, which was the breakout role of his career. McNulty is a retired detective who still has influence and remains involved in cases. He has unconventional, and albeit controversial, ways of solving cases, but they tend to work.

West, who is from England, said doing a Baltimore accent remained a challenge through the end of the show. "It never got any easier for me. It was a real problem for me, actually. I worked pretty hard on it," he said in the oral history book "All the Pieces Matter."

Dominic West in The Wire.
Dominic West in The Wire.©HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection

After being an integral part of the cast, West negotiated for time off to spend with family. “I really needed to get home and be with my daughter for a bit longer," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2008 (He and wife Catherine Fitzgerald share four children, and he has another daughter from a previous relationship).

Producers let him "go light" in Season Four as long as he returned full-time for Season Five. West said his absence was hardly noticeable, thanks to show producer and writer David Simon.

“It was sort of in keeping with David Simon’s audacity as a writer, that he’d lose one of the main characters, but, God, he pulled it off. I thought he took it to another level; he really did," he said.

'The Affair'

"The Affair" premiered on Showtime in 2014 and ran for five seasons.

As the name suggests, the drama series explores the emotional and psychological impact infidelity can have, both directly and indirectly. In the show, West plays Noah Solloway, a teacher and aspiring novelist married to Helen Solloway (Maura Tierney), and they share four kids. One summer in the Hamptons, Noah meets Alison (Ruth Wilson), a waitress with whom he begins an all-encompassing, life-changing affair.

Joshua Jackson, Dominic West in The Affair.
Joshua Jackson and Dominic West in "The Affair."©Showtime /Courtesy Everett Collection

West told The Evening Standard that filming the show's sex scenes was not actually sexy at all.

"It can be sexy sometimes... at all the wrong moments,” he told the outlet. “In your supposed moment of passion, you have a guy with a boom (microphone) going, ‘Could you just move slightly to your left, mate?’ Then you’ve got some other poor sod putting make-up on your bum.”

'Les Misérables'

West starred in PBS and BBC One's adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel "Les Misérables" in 2018 in which he played Jean Valjean, a formerly incarcerated man transitioning back into regular life.

David Oyelowo (back to camera), Dominic West and Lily Collins in Les Miserables.
David Oyelowo (back to camera), Dominic West and Lily Collins in Les Miserables.©PBS / Courtesy Everett Collection

And he's been in a whole bunch of movies

West has starred in a range of movies, from "Finding Dory" (he voiced a sea lion!) to "From Time to Time" to "Tomb Raider." Recently, you may have seen him in "Downton Abbey 2." His "Crown" co-star Imelda Staunton was in the first "Downton" movie.

Downton Abbey 2. from left: Dominic West, Robert James Collier, 2022.
Downton Abbey 2. from left: Dominic West, Robert James Collier, 2022. ©Focus Features / Courtesy Everett

Correction (12/20 at 9:31 a.m.): Charles and Diana's wedding date has been corrected.