'The Crown' star Dominic West 'spent two days in bed' over negative reviews
Dominic West took criticism of the final seasons of "The Crown" to heart.
The actor, who played the future King Charles III on Netflix's drama series about the British royal family, spoke with BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday about reading negative reviews of the show and his performance.
"All reactions worry me," he said. "I read all the reviews and spent two days in bed. So yes, I'm a sensitive soul. I worry about what people think."
West took over as Charles in the fifth season of "The Crown," which periodically swapped out its cast as it moved forward in time. He succeeded Josh O'Connor in the role and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance.
But "The Crown" received more mixed reviews for its fifth and sixth seasons than its first four, and some critics argued West was not right for the part. In a review for Variety, critic Daniel D'Addario wrote that the actor was "simply miscast" and "a sad comedown" from O'Connor. West returned for the final season of "The Crown," which debuted in 2023 and received a 54% critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 96% for Season 4.
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West, who is now starring in a production of Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge," told BBC Radio 4 it was "difficult" to play Charles in the show and admitted it's "such a relief to go back to the theater and not have to talk about the monarchy anymore."
He also noted he was concerned about the royal family's reaction to the show given he doesn't "want to make their lives any more difficult than they already are," and he was "reluctant" to take on the part in the first place. But "you don't turn down a Peter Morgan script very easily," he said, referring to the series' creator.
"He's such a great writer and it was such a great show," West said. "I loved being on it. I loved wearing the clothes, I loved driving the cars, and I loved having people bow to me. It's an absolutely wonderful feeling. I miss it!"
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West, who gained critical acclaim for his role as Jimmy McNulty in HBO's gritty drama "The Wire" and starred opposite Ruth Wilson on Showtime's "The Affair," previously said he initially turned down the role of Charles, telling Entertainment Weekly in 2022, "(Morgan) said he'd be interested in me playing Charles and I was quite astonished. I said, 'You've got the wrong guy, I don't look anything like him.'"
In an interview with GQ, West suggested the negative reviews stemmed from the press getting "a bit tired of the old thing," and he addressed the common criticism that he was miscast. "I'm not sure I disagree with that," he said, "but I did my best and I had a lot of fun doing it."