Dominic West Says Goodbye to The Crown, Plays Prince Charles

Dominic West is nominated for his first Emmy Award for his leading role as Prince Charles in The crownPeter Morgan’s historical drama about the royal family garnered a total of 18 nominations for its sixth and final season.

“I talked to Jonathan Pryce first, because I said, ‘You’re a little greedy after being nominated twice,’” West recalls with a laugh, of his co-star who also received a guest actor nomination for Slow horses.

West played Prince Charles in seasons five and six of the Netflix series and found the current king to be not only a man he grew to love, but also someone with whom he shared common interests.

“I think he’s a deeply thoughtful man and also our most cultured monarch since George IV. I really admire his love of theatre – Shakespeare in particular – and gardening and nature. Those are wonderful qualities, and he has a real passion for all those things, particularly acting. I didn’t really realise he did a lot of acting in his younger days,” West says. “He’s also a very emotional man, which we’re not used to after the last queen. I like that he’s a bit of a show-off.”

The last season of The crown It was particularly moving given the context in which what is happening is taking place. How did you prepare for this undertaking?

I guess the first and most important thing I had to do was remind myself that the guy I was playing is famous and is a real person and you have to use your own emotions and your own response to the situation. It’s hard with The crown because it was a very well-known series and because Josh O’Connor had played the role of Charles so brilliantly [in seasons three and four]It was hard to get over that initial urge to do an imitation to look like the guy or talk like the guy. It took me all [my] first season. For [my] second season I was able to relax a little more and just react to the material.

How did you approach the role from the start?

I read everything and watched everything. I had a movement coach, I had a voice coach. The crown It’s an incredible production, it has a lot of resources, and they have an incredible research department and I used them a lot for their material. I did everything to try to bridge the gap between the way he looks and the way he sounds and mine, which are not similar at all.

Charles and Queen Elizabeth don’t have a typical mother-son relationship. How did you find the right chemistry with Imelda Staunton?

I’ve worked with Imelda three or four times now, so I know her pretty well, and I know you have to be on top of things with her. She’s pragmatic. She’s terrifying.Laughs.) No, she’s not terrifying, but she can be. If you’re not pulling your weight and working as hard as she is, she’ll let you know, which is wonderful actually, because you’re bringing your A-game, and you have to do that with her because…