Dominic West Biography

DOMINIC WEST

Date of Birth: October 15, 1969

Dominic West is one of seven children born to George and Moya West of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. His father owned a successful plastics manufacturing plant and his mother was a homemaker who loved theater and influenced her son to start acting at age nine when he began appearing in community theater productions.

As Dominic grew older, his focus shifted from acting. After he graduated from high school he ventured off to Argentina for a four-month stint as a cattle herder. The trip was an odd venture for a young man with such a bright future, but West claims he was "just trying to be different."

When he returned from Argentina, Dominic continued his education at Dublin's Trinity College. He graduated from the school in 1993 with a B.A. in English literature. But soon after, he realized his passion was for acting, so he enrolled in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

After graduating, Dominic began appearing in small roles in films like Richard III (1995), Surviving Picasso (1996) and The Gambler (1997). His early credits also include brief appearances in Spice World (1997) and as a palace guard in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999).

Dominic considers his big break to be the role he played opposite Sandra Bullock in 28 Days (2000). After that, he landed prominent roles in Rock Star (2001), Chicago (2002), Mona Lisa Smile (2004) and The Forgotten (2004). In 2006, he took a villainous turn in Zack Snyder's graphic novel adaptation 300 before starring in the comedy Johnny English Reborn in 2011 and the horror film The Awakening in 2012. Dominic has also had success on the small screen, starring in the critically acclaimed dramas The Wire and The Hour.

From 2014 to 2018, he played Noah Solloway on the critically acclaimed series The Affair. In 2016, he starred in Money Monster alongside George Clooney, Genius alongside Colin Firth and Jude Law and voiced the role of Rudder in the animated sequel Finding Dory alongside Ellen DeGeneres.

In 2018 he played the starring role of Jean Valjean in the TV mini-series Les Misérables and Lara Croft's father Richard in the feature film reboot, Tomb Raider (2018). Most recently he returned to theaters in the drama Colette(2018) where he starred opposite Keira Knightley as her husband who forces her to write stories so he can put his name on them and claim them as his own.

In 1998, Dominic welcomed a daughter, Martha, with his girlfriend Polly Astor. The two split up three years later, at which point he rekindled his romance with his college sweetheart Catherine Fitzgerald. The couple married in 2010 and have four children together: Dora, Senan, Francis and Christabel.

Filmography:

Colette (2018)
Tomb Raider (2018)
I Feel Fine (2016)
Finding Dory (2016)
Genius (2016)
Money Monster (2016)
Testament of Youth (2015)
Pride (2014)
The Awakening (2012)
John Carter (2012)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Johnny English Reborn (2011)
Words of the Blitz (2010)
Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)
Centurion (2010)
From Time to Time (2009)
Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Hannibal Rising (2007)
300 (2006)
The Forgotten (2004)
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Chicago (2002)
Rock Star (2001)
28 Days (2000)
Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Spice World (1997)
The Gambler (1997)
True Blue (1996)
Surviving Picasso (1996)
Richard III (1995)