After graduating from Trinity College, West returned to England to attend the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, with plans to become a full-time actor. “I remember being mystified whenever people said, ‘What are you going to do?’ and I said, ‘Be an actor,’ and they’d say [deep theatrical voice], ‘Oh, it’s very hard,'” West told The Guardian.
For West, though, it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, shortly after graduating from Guildhall, he landed a small role in 1995’s Ian McKellen-starring film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” More bit parts followed, with West finding himself pretty much constantly employed — something of a rarity for an actor just starting out. West, however, landed minor roles in some major motion pictures, including the Spice Girls’ “Spice World,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a made-for-TV version of “A Christmas Carol” (starring Patrick Stewart), and playing a palace guard who has a brief interaction with young Anakin Skywalker in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.”
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As West told The Guardian, he had no illusions about how charmed his life has been concerning his acting career. “I’ve been fairly lucky,” he conceded. “Unfortunately it’s been a tale of intense luck and privilege. But there you go.”
