Actor Dominic West has revealed he once spent a night homeless in London.
The star of TV dramas The Wire and Appropriate Adult will next appear as a suave cult leader alongside Cate Blanchett in Netflix’s Stateless.
Inspired by true events, the series takes place in Australia and explores the country’s immigration system.
West said his brief experience of being homeless made him realise how easy it is for someone to fall through the cracks.
He told the Radio Times: “What’s so striking is how close we all are to this. I haven’t experienced being stateless politically, but I’ve been without money – I’ve been homeless for a night in London and without money.”
West, who did not go into detail about his experience of being homeless, added: “It was astonishing how quickly you become invisible, and how quickly you become reviled and how quickly you realise that all you’ve got to appeal to anyone is a common humanity.
“And that’s just not having money, never mind being a refugee or escaping a regime.”
Stateless is inspired by a true story and features four strangers – a woman on the run, a brave refugee, a driven bureaucrat and a struggling father – whose lives intertwine at an Australian immigration detention centre.
Co-created by Oscar-winner Blanchett, it also stars Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney and Fayssal Bazzi.
The limited series arrives on Netflix on July 8. Read the full interview with Dominic West in the Radio Times.