Dominic West: I spent two days in bed because Crown reviews were so bad

An advertising billboard promoting Netflix's The Crown shows the main characters of the British royal family - depicting Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton), and then-Prince of Wales, now King Charles (Dominic West). Photo / Richard Baker

Dominic West spent two days in bed after reading negative reviews of The Crown.

The actor, who played the King, who was then Prince of Wales, in the final instalments of the Netflix series, said he was sensitive to criticism.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, West was asked if he had worried about the Royal family’s opinion of the drama.

“Well, I don’t want to make their lives any more difficult than they already are. So I suppose it does concern you. All reactions worry me,” he said.

“I read all the reviews and had to spend two days in bed. So, yes, I’m a sensitive soul. I worry about what people think.”

The final season of The Crown, which was released in November last year, was derided for scenes in which Charles spoke to Diana’s “ghost”.

Before reading the reviews, West enjoyed his time on the show. “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,” he joked.

West has met the King through his work supporting the Prince’s Trust, and described himself as “a great admirer of his”.

The actor has since returned to the stage in A View from the Bridge, which is transferring from the Theatre Royal Bath to London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket in May for a limited run.

Rufus Kampa as Prince William, Dominic West as Prince Charles, and Fflyn Edwards as Prince Harry in The Crown. Photo / Netflix

“It’s such a relief to go back to theatre and not talk about the monarchy any more,” West said.

For the London run, 100 tickets per performance will be priced at £20 ($41.39) and available to people under the age of 25.

West recently criticised “crazy” West End ticket prices and audiences, saying that the exorbitant cost “means only a certain small group of people will be going to the theatre and probably not enjoying it much. And you get a lot of tourists in London and people are not necessarily there because they want to be there… it’s because it is part of the tourist trail.”

He told the Today programme that those “injudicious comments” may have prompted the introduction of the discounted ticket scheme.