The Crown cast Dominic West as Prince Charles but it turns out that the season 5 actor was worried about his ability to embody the iconic member of the Royal Family.
Created by Peter Morgan, The Crown is a prestige drama of the highest order and the series has been celebrated on Netflix ever since it debuted Claire Foy’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, later recast with Olivia Colman and then Imelda Staunton. Season 6 is scheduled to commence the final season on Thursday, November 16th 2023 and as we reflect on new castings and old, it turns out that one of the show’s stars had some doubts to overcome.
The Crown’s Dominic West was afraid he wouldn’t be ‘convincing’
The 53-year-old English actor Dominic West made his The Crown debut with season 5 in November 2022, taking over the Prince Charles of Wales role from Josh O’Connor (seasons 3 and 4).
We can expect the actor to once again reprise the role in the final batch of episodes. However, he was troubled for quite some time that he wouldn’t be able to do the role justice.
“I knew I was in very good hands with the hair and makeup and the costume departments, and the movement department and the voice department,” he admitted during an interview with Netflix.
Yet, the doubts didn’t stem from these departments. “I did think for quite a long time that absolutely no hands could deal with the task ahead because I thought, ‘I don’t look like him and sound like him, and I’m not going to be convincing as this guy,’” he argued. “That took a while to overcome.”
Nevertheless, he did overcome these doubts and delivered an impressive portrayal of the Royal.
“This is a fiction and a dramatization,” he added. “You’re not really going for imitation.” This allowed him to push for a different kind of performance than the one achieved by Josh.
The Crown Prince Charles casting was divisive
Although Dominic’s work on the period drama has earned showers of praise from audiences, his performance has also been taken aim at by detractors.
“How did the idea of hiring Dominic West as Prince Charles come about in the director’s mind?” one fan of the show tweeted when the decision was announced.
“Dominic West is too handsome to play Prince Charles, to be honest,” another argued online.
Similarly, one disputed that he was “too fine”, causing others to question whether the casting was the right route to take.
All the same, others believed it was an inspired choice and the star’s acting abilities no doubt guaranteed compelling results.
The Crown season 6 part 2 marks the end
After the first four episodes of the season in November, audiences will be invited to round out the experience with the series finale on Thursday, December 14th 2023.
Season 6 part 2 will be made up of six episodes in total, chronicling the Royal Family through the 2000s.
The Crown is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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