Dominic West Reacts to 'The Crown' Criticism That He's 'Too Handsome' to Play Prince Charles

The 53-year-old British actor is the fourth actor to play the now-king on the Netflix royal drama.

Too charming to play Charles? Dominic West might be the fourth actor to play Queen Elizabeth II's firstborn son on The Crown, but the 53-year-old British actor has received some particular criticism for not exactly matching the new king's likeness. 

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Kimmel noted that many have called out the Netflix royal drama's casting department for selecting West when he's "too handsome" for the role. 

"Thanks very much. I've had worse criticism," West said, grinning. 

"You're more charming than Charles," Kimmel added. 

"Oh, thanks," West said, laughing. 

The actor took over the role from Josh O'Connor in season 5, which takes place during Charles' tumultuous split from Princess Diana and a variety of scandals revolving around his relationship with his now-wife, Camilla. 

"It was the lowest point of his life," West said of the early '90s for the now-king. "You see pictures of him then and he's very, very sad and that's quite a responsibility, taking that on."

Keith Bernstein/Netflix

One scene that's not quite so serious, is a moment where Charles is breakdancing with some youths for his charity organization, The Prince's Trust. The moment came from a real-life video that has made a resurgence on YouTube since season 5 premiered on Netflix. 

"He takes his dancing quite seriously," West said of Charles, noting that he worked with a choreographer to master the scene. 

"She said the difficulty is there's no rhythm," West said of the choreographer's notes. "It's much harder to dance out of time. He does it brilliantly."

West has some real-life experience with other members of the royal family, mainly Charles' youngest son, Prince Harry. The pair hiked to the South Pole on an expedition in 2013 alongside wounded veterans. 

"Harry turned out to be really very artistic in sculpting the latrines," West said of the Duke of Sussex's work crafting man-made toilets out of snow. "I remember one camp we got to and he'd already been there for quite a long time and he'd dug out of the snow these latrines with a very artistic toilet roll holder, out of snow, yeah, who'd have thought it?" 

"Did you christen his latrine?" Kimmel asked West. 

"I certainly did... his throne," West quipped. 

WWTW via Getty Images

ET previously spoke with West about his friendship with Harry, asking whether he reached out to the royal for help in mastering the role of his father. 

"I didn't think it was appropriate to call him up and ask him for tips," West told ET earlier this month. "I haven't spoken to him for many years. We did walk to the South Pole together with a lot of wounded soldiers, so I got to know him pretty well."

West did, however, reach out to The Prince's Trust when he took on the role. 

"I just thought I would inform the Prince's Trust that I was playing the part. And I felt they had a right to know that. So, that's as far as it went," the actor said, referring to the charitable organization founded by Charles in 1976 before revealing that he did not have to resign from any position despite reports he offered to quit as ambassador. 

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