A dark-haired, well-built and handsome performer with a charming comedic flair that marked him as a uniquely appealing actor with certain leading man potential, British actor Dominic West spent the 1990s honing his trade with London stage work, starring turns in small British features and supporting parts in larger-scale productions. He made his big screen debut in 1995's "Wavelength", a drama set at Oxford University, a place revisited in his second film "True Blue" (1996), based on Oxford's famed 1987 boat race. West starred as rowing club captain Donald MacDonald in the drama, and made the most of a somewhat blandly written role. 1996 also saw the actor take a featured role in a film adaptation of "Richard III" starring Ian McKellen and appear as Paulo Picasso in Merchant-Ivory's "Surviving Picasso". In 1997, West starred in Hungarian director Karoly Makk's "The Gambler", a unique dramatization that intertwined Dostoyevsky's real life and fiction. In scenes from the novel that were played out on screen, West portrayed a young man who becomes a high roller in a bid to secure the affections of a beautiful woman (Polly Walker). That same year he starred alongside Toni Collette in the romance "Diana & Me", playing an ambitious British paparazzo who becomes involved with an Australian Diana Spencer who shared her name and birthday with the famed Princess of Wales. West's portrayal of the photographer ensured that though few would approve of the victimizing nature of his livelihood, his humanity and likablity shone through. He played a photographer again the following year, this time with a cameo in the zany mockumentary "Spice World".

A pivotal role as Lysander in Michael Hoffman's star studded adaptation "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999) increased the actor's visibility to an American audience. Virtually naked for much of the film and given the unenviable task of nude bicycling, West still capably held his own alongside co-stars Christian Bale, Calista Flockhart and Anna Friel with a notably charming turn. He next could be seen on the big screen with an uncharacteristic bit part, uttering a single line as a mostly obscured palace guard in the summer blockbuster "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999). While the role was really very small, West considered the opportunity to be in such a monumental film (an opportunity afforded him as he and star Ewan McGregor shared the same agent) as one not to be passed up.

The actor's profile continued to rise through 2000, beginning with his co-starring role alongside Sandra Bullock in the comedy/drama "28 Days", chronicling New York City writer Gwen's experience in court-ordered rehab. West played Jasper, Gwen's fun-loving British boyfriend who shared her life of hard partying and forgotten evenings. His portrait of the sincere but irresponsible man was engaging and hard to resist, if somewhat two-dimensional. West followed up playing a rhythm guitarist for popular hard rock band Steel Dragon in the fact-based comedy "Rock Star" (2001), starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston.

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