We can’t be the only ones who, upon seeing the news that married Dominic West had been spotted canoodling in Rome with Lily James, also saw the irony of his most recent notable role being a cheating husband in The Affair. Unpicking the pictures of Dominic nuzzling Lily’s neck, everyone who was as obsessed with The Affair as we were must’ve felt the inner ‘yikes’ of potentially seeing life mimic art.
As it turns out, there are quite a few examples of where Dominic’s life seems to mimic his character. Lily James looking so much like his former The Affair co-star Ruth Wilson (who plays Alison, the woman he has an affair with) is just the tip of the iceberg.
He and his wife met in university, only for them to separate and rekindle later in life
Originally meeting in 1993 at Trinity College Dublin, Dominic and wife Catherine began their relationship at university just like Noah and his wife Helen in The Affair. While Noah and Helen stayed together until his infidelity caused them to separate, the season five finale shows they rekindled and ultimately got back together later in life. Like Noah and Helen, Dominic and Catherine rekindled their romance decades after they initially dated, marrying in 2010, and have been together ever since.
He had a baby with another woman while they were separated
While the timelines are certainly different, you can’t deny the eery case of life mimicking art when you find out that Dominic had a daughter with Polly Astor in 1998, in-between relationships with Catherine. Just like Noah having a daughter with Alison (albeit after he and Helen had separated because of his affair). This means Dominic has four children with his wife and one with the other love in his life...
He has the same number of children
That’s right, both Dominic and Noah have five children. More than that, he has two girls and two boys with Catherine, and one daughter with Polly. Literally, the exact same as Noah. His oldest child is even his daughter, although we can safely say we hope Dominic’s relationship with his real-life daughter is better than Noah’s was with Whitney.
He has controversial views about fidelity
Now, Noah had controversial views about pretty much everything, from infidelity to sexual assault. He was, without a doubt, an arsehole. While we don’t know Dominic West personally, we can’t stay he is any way similar to Noah personality wise – but has certainly said some questionable things about fidelity that likely mimic Noah’s views.
‘Infidelity [is] one of those subjects that people have very strong opinions about because everybody is open to it and can experience it,' he told Harper’s Bazaar last year. 'I suppose people suspect that the conventions that we have agreed upon in society, that a man and women can stay together for life or a certain amount of time without cheating, that they’re not really staying together based on anything other than how society thinks they should behave. It’s not the necessarily natural way to be, therefore there will always be adultery and intrigue about it.'
He's also previously told the Evening Standard in 2016 that we should all ignore men’s behaviour when they're between 40 and 50.
'I mean, I think women should be more indulgent of affairs,' he said. '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.'
Come on now, you can’t say that doesn’t sound like a line taken straight out of The Affair.
His wife has family money
One of the most annoying narratives within The Affair has to be how much Noah resents Helen for having family money. Despite all his privilege, he’s intensely insecure about how reliant his family is on Helen’s wealthy father's money since his career hasn’t quite taken off yet. While we couldn’t say Dominic feels anything like this towards his real-life wife’s finances, there’s no denying her family's generational wealth. A member of the FitzGerald dynasty, an Irish royal and aristocratic dynasty that originated in Normandy, Catherine’s official title is Viscountess Lambton.
Dominic, on the other hand, while privileged enough to attend Eton College, is the son of an actor and a factory-owner with six siblings. He doesn't seem anywhere near as bothered as Noah was living the aristocrat life though, at least not by the looks of this castle-house-tour...
He didn’t catch his ‘big break’ until later in life
Okay, so by ‘big break’ we mean 33, which is quite rude, but in celebrity years 33 is pretty late to become a global superstar. When Dominic was cast in The Wire in 2002, his reputation went from good to Hollywood, much like his character Noah who didn’t see global stardom until his book Descent was published at the end of season one when Noah would’ve been in his 40s. Does this fight up the greasy pole give him a sense of humility? Well, for Noah it only made him insecure and entitled.
Lily James looks a lot like Ruth Wilson
To top it all off, his on-screen 'other woman' bears a striking resemblance to Lily James.
What is it actors always say about slipping into character? After playing Noah for five seasons, perhaps Dominic got a bit too familiar with his script.
Read More:
All Things We Absolutely Need To Discuss About The Dominic West And Lily James Story
Dominic West Declares His Marriage Is 'Strong' Following Lily James Photos