Dominic West: ‘Affairs? What’s the big deal’

Dominic West is all for extramarital affairs.
The British actor knows a thing to two about cheating thanks to his role in hit TV show The Affair. The groundbreaking series looks at an affair from both the man’s and woman’s perspective, with Ruth Wilson playing married Alison who catches the eye of Noah, a married man.
“I mean, I think women should be more indulgent of affairs,” Dominic commented to Britain’s Evening Standard newspaper, with a twinkle in his eye.
“I really do. It’s daft to kick someone out over a fling. Isn’t it? Everyone should turn a blind eye to men’s behaviour between the ages of 40 and 50. Let it all blow over.”
As the title suggests, The Affair is full of sex scenes, something Dominic’s wife Catherine is fine with. If the shoe was on the other foot though, the 46-year-old actor wouldn’t be best pleased. However, Catherine has never sat down with her spouse to actually watch an episode.
“Oh, f**k no!” he laughed. “She saw a bit of it on the plane once, and I saw a bit of it on the plane. Neither of us watches it. Can’t bear to — although apparently it’s quite good.”
While Dominic is just as likely to be seen on the big screen as he is the small, his roots started in TV when mega show The Wire propelled him to stardom. It also launched the career of Idris Elba, and despite being a huge hit with viewers, never bagged any major awards.
“Not one. As I kept telling the producers: there’s too many black people in it,” he recalled. “Of course (the industry) is b**ody racist, that’s old news. But racist makes it sounds as if people are being lynched. I suppose those people like to watch shows about themselves.
“My sister is a doctor. She’ll come home from work and watch ER, and you think ‘why?’ And I suppose most people in the industry are white people and they like watching white people.”