Damian Lewis

For other people with similar names, see Damien Lewis (disambiguation).

Damian Lewis CBE
Lewis in 2015
Born	Damian Watcyn Lewis (1971-02-11) 11 February 1971 (age 53) London, England
Education	Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BA)
Occupations	Actor musician presenter producer
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Helen McCrory ​ ​ (m. 2007;died 2021)​
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Folk [1] jazz [1] [2] roots rock [2] rock [2] blues [2]
Instrument(s)	Guitar vocals
Labels	Decca

Damian Watcyn Lewis CBE (born 11 February 1971) is a British actor, musician and producer. He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers . Lewis won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland , and received nominations for both for his performance as Henry VIII of England in Wolf Hall . He portrayed Bobby Axelrod in the Showtime series Billions in six out of seven seasons, and appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) as actor Steve McQueen.

Early life and education

Lewis was born on 11 February 1971 in St John's Wood, London, the eldest son of Charlotte Mary ( née Bowater) and John Watcyn Lewis, a City insurance broker with Lloyd's. ^{[3] [4] [5]} His paternal grandparents were Welsh, ^[6] and he says he considers himself "London Welsh". ^[7] His maternal grandfather was Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ian Bowater, Lord Mayor of London, and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand, Viscount Dawson of Penn (a doctor to the Royal Family) and the eminent naval shipbuilder and philanthropist Sir Alfred Yarrow, 1st Baronet (see Yarrow Shipbuilders), who was of partial Sephardic Jewish descent. ^[8] Lewis has said that he "went to English boarding schools and grew up around people very much like [his character] Soames and in a milieu very much like the Forsytes '". ^[9]

As a child, Lewis made several visits to the US to visit relatives during summer breaks. ^{[10] [11]} He first decided to become an actor at the age of 16. ^[5]

He was educated at the independent Ashdown House School in Forest Row, East Sussex, and at Eton College, ^[3] and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993. ^[12]

Career

Lewis once worked as a telemarketer selling car alarms. ^[13] His first television appearance was as a medical student in "Hickory Dickory Dock", a feature-length episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot , an ITV Studios TV production, broadcast in 1995. ^[14] He also appeared as a rakish student in an early episode of the drama series A Touch of Frost (1996). He appeared in Robinson Crusoe (1997) as Patrick Conner.

At this time he was also working as an actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing among other roles Borgheim in Adrian Noble's production of Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf and Posthumus Leonatus in William Shakespeare's Cymbeline . ^[15] He would later go on to star in another of Ibsen's plays, as Karsten Bernick in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre in November 2005. ^[16]

He also appeared in Jonathan Kent's production of Hamlet , playing Laertes. This production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who later cast Lewis as Richard Winters in Band of Brothers (2001), the first role of several that required him to have a credible American accent. ^[10]

He was in the 2000 series called Hearts and Bones as the love interest of Dervla Kirwan. Subsequently, Lewis portrayed Soames Forsyte in the ITV series The Forsyte Saga , which earned him positive reviews. ^[17] He returned to the US to star in Dreamcatcher , a Lawrence Kasdan film about a man who becomes possessed by an evil alien. The character is American but when possessed he takes on a British accent. ^[10] On the heels of this role, he starred in Keane as a Manhattanite with a fragile mental state who is searching for his missing daughter. Despite the film's poor box-office, Lewis's performance in the role was very well reviewed. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

He played Jeffrey Archer in the TV special Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. Since 2004, he has appeared in a number of films, as well as the 2005 BBC TV adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing , as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told season. Lewis played the role of Yassen Gregorovich in the film Stormbreaker . In 2006, he appeared in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC drama Friends and Crocodiles . He has appeared on BBC's Have I Got News for You as guest host several times; on 10 November 2006, 1 May 2009, 18 November 2010, 27 April 9 November 2012 and 31 October 2014.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2008, Lewis starred as the main character Charlie Crews in the American television series Life on NBC. The show premiered in the US on 26 September 2007 and was affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. Only half of the first season's shows were produced. Regardless, the show won a 2008 AFI Award for best television series. ^[21] Although the show received critical acclaim, when it returned the following television season, it was shuffled from night to night, and eventually cancelled by NBC to clear its time slot for The Jay Leno Show .^{[ citation needed ]}

Lewis appeared the following year in the lead role in The Baker , a film directed by his brother, Gareth. Damian took a supporting role of Rizza in The Escapist , which he also helped produce. He led the cast in Martin Crimp's version of Molière's comedy, The Misanthrope , which opened in December 2009 at the Comedy Theatre, London. ^[22] Other cast members included Tara Fitzgerald, Keira Knightley and Dominic Rowan. ^[23]

Lewis played Tory Prime Minister Simon Laity in two seasons of Number 10 on BBC Radio 4. ^{[24] [25]}

He played Gareth, the father of an 11-year-old Liverpool F.C. fan, in the 2011 film Will . ^[26]

From 2011 to 2013, Lewis had a starring role as Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland , for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award. ^[27] In 2013, he narrated poetry for The Love Book App, an "interactive anthology of love literature developed by Allie Byrne Esiri". ^[28]

In 2016 he began starring as billionaire hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod in the Showtime series Billions . ^[29] He left the show in 2021 after five seasons, but returned for half of season 7. In 2016 he appeared in the British spy film Our Kind of Traitor.

Music

In an interview with The Guardian in October 2022, Lewis said that he had long-standing ambitions to be a musician, and had been collaborating with jazz artist Giacomo Smith, firstly on cover songs and then writing new material for an album that would be released in 2023: "I started writing and found out there was lots that I actually did want to write, and before we knew it we had a record’s worth of songs. We’ve ended up with a rootsy, jazzy, rock’n’rolly, singer-songwritery-type album." ^[30]

Lewis released his debut single, "Down On the Bowery", on 13 April 2023. ^[31] His debut album, Mission Creep, was released in June that year on Decca Records. ^[32]

On 9 July 2023, he sang the national anthem at the British Grand Prix, accompanied by a saxophonist.

Other activities

In 2009 Lewis featured in Inspired By Music, a book commissioned by The Prince's Trust, written and photographed by celebrity photographer Cambridge Jones, ^[33] and sponsored by Starbucks. ^{[34] [35]} It features personal reflections by 36 celebrities as well as four ordinary people helped by The Prince's Trust, ^[36] about musical lyrics that inspired them. ^[34] Lewis's photo portrait also featured in Jones's exhibition Talking Pictures, featuring famous people of Welsh descent, that toured the world from 2010. ^[37]

In 2010, Lewis became a trade justice ambassador for the charity Christian Aid. ^[38] In May 2006 and June 2018, he played for England in Soccer Aid, and played golf for Europe in the All*Star Cup in August 2006, both shown on ITV.^{[ citation needed ]}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis and his wife Helen McCrory supported Feed NHS, a fundraiser to give food from high street restaurants to NHS staff. By April 2020, they had raised £1m for the charity. The initiative started in London, but following its success, plans were announced to roll it out to other cities in the UK. ^[39]

Recognition

Honours

Lewis was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to drama ^[40] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity. ^{[41] [42]}

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Damian Lewis

Lewis' portrayal of U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers earned him a Golden Globe nomination.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lewis' performance as U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland earned him a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 2012. ^[43]

His performance as Henry VIII of England in Wolf Hall earned him his third Primetime Emmy nomination and fourth Golden Globe nomination.^{[ citation needed ]}

Personal life

Helen McCrory and Lewis at the 2013 British Academy Film Awards

Lewis suffered a period of depression following a motorcycle accident in North London in 1998. ^{[44] [45]}

Having previously dated Katie Razzall, Kristin Davis and Sophia Myles, ^[46] Lewis married actress Helen McCrory on 4 July 2007. They have a daughter and a son. ^[47] McCrory died of cancer on 16 April 2021, aged 52. ^{[48] [30]}

Lewis is a supporter of Liverpool F.C. ^[49]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Robinson Crusoe	Patrick
2003	Dreamcatcher	Gary "Jonesy" Jones
2004	Keane	William Keane
	Brides	Norman Harris	Original Greek Title: Νύφες
2005	Chromophobia	Marcus Aylesbury
	An Unfinished Life	Gary Winston
2006	The Situation	Dan Murphy
	Stormbreaker	Yasha "Yassen" Gregorovich	Released in the US as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
2007	The Baker	Milo "The Baker" Shakespeare	Also producer; also known as Assassin in Love
	The Escapist	Rizza
2011	Your Highness	Boremont
	Will	Gareth
2012	The Sweeney	Detective Chief Inspector Frank Haskins
2013	Romeo & Juliet	Lord Capulet
2014	The Silent Storm	Balor McNeil
2015	Queen of the Desert	Lt. Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, VC
	Bill	Sir Richard Hawkins
2016	Our Kind of Traitor	Hector
2019	Run This Town [50]	Rob Ford
	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	Steve McQueen
2020	Dream Horse	Howard Davies

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Micky Love	Clive	Television film
1995	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Leonard Bateson	Episode: "Hickory Dickory Dock"
1996	A Touch of Frost	Adam Weston	Episode: "Deep Waters"
1999	Warriors	Lt. Neil Loughrey	Television film
2000	Life Force	Kurt Glemser	5 episodes
	Hearts and Bones	Mark Rose	Main role (season 1)
2001	Band of Brothers	Maj. Richard D. Winters	Miniseries
2002	Jeffrey Archer: The Truth	Jeffrey Archer	Television film
2002–2003	The Forsyte Saga	Soames Forsyte	Main role
2003	The Forsyte Saga: To Let	Soames Forsyte	Television film
2005	Colditz	Cpl / Lt. Nicholas McGrade	2 episodes
	Friends and Crocodiles	Paul	Television film
	Much Ado About Nothing	Benedick	Television film
2006–2020	Have I Got News for You	Presenter	7 episodes
2007–2009	Life	Charlie Crews	Main role
2011	Stolen	D.I. Anthony Carter	Television film
2011–2014	Homeland	Nicholas Brody	Main role
2015	Wolf Hall	Henry VIII of England	Miniseries
2016–2023	Billions	Bobby Axelrod	Main role (seasons 1-5, 7)
2019	Spy Wars	Host	8 episodes
2022	A Spy Among Friends [51]	Nicholas Elliott	Main role; also producer
TBA	Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light	Henry VIII of England	Upcoming series

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
1994	The School for Wives	Horace	Almeida Theatre
1995	Hamlet	Laertes	Belasco Theatre
1996	Little Eyolf [15]	Borgheim	Swan Theatre
1997	Cymbeline [15]	Posthumus Leonatus	Royal Shakespeare Theatre
1998	Much Ado About Nothing	Don John	Barbican Theatre
	Into the Woods	The Wolf Cinderella's Prince	Donmar Warehouse
2003–2004	Five Gold Rings	Daniel	Almeida Theatre
2005	Pillars of the Community [16]	Karsten Bernick	National Theatre
2009	The Misanthrope	Alceste	Comedy Theatre
2015	American Buffalo	Teach	Wyndham's Theatre
2017	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Martin Gray	Theatre Royal Haymarket

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
Mission Creep	Released: June 16, 2023 Label: Decca Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Down On the Bowery" [31]	2023	Mission Creep
"Zaragoza"
"Makin' Plans"
"She Comes" [1]

Other appearances

Title	Year	Credited artist(s)	Album
"William I - Introduction by Damien Lewis"	2021	Damian Lewis	Music of Kings and Queens
"Henry VIII - Introduction by Damien Lewis"
"Charles II - Introduction by Damien Lewis"
"George II - Introduction by Damien Lewis"
"George VI - Introduction by Damien Lewis"

References

1. Peacock, Tim (10 June 2023). "Damian Lewis Shares Emotive Single 'She Comes'; Announces New UK Dates". UDiscover Music. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
2. "Musical Career". Damien-Lewis.com. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
3. Collins, Lauren (2016). "Blue Blood, Blue Collar: Damian Lewis's transformations," The New Yorker, 18 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
4. Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1990, ed. Charles Kidd, pg 759
5. Interview with The Sunday Express, 25 May 2003; accessed 22 December 2008.
6. Mottram, James. Damian Lewis interview with Marie Claire Archived 27 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine , 25 February 2008. accessed 14 January 2009.
7. "Homeland's Damian Lewis rooting for Wales in Six Nations". Independent.co.uk . 20 March 2013.
8. "Yarrow, Sir Alfred, First Baronet". 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
9. "An Interview with Damian Lewis". Public Broadcasting Service. 2002. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
10. Iannotti, Lauren. "Esquire Style". Esquire , April 2003, 139 (4):120.
11. "Fighting Talk" Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine . New Woman, November 1999. republished at Damian-Lewis.com. accessed 22 December 2008.
12. Wolf, Matt (1 January 1995). "FILM; Who Will Be The New Ralph Fiennes, The Next Hugh Grant?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
13. Holmes, Linda (29 September 2012). "Damian Lewis On The Conflicts And Complexities Of 'Homeland'". NPR. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
14. "Poirot" Hickory Dickory Dock (TV Episode 1995) - IMDb , retrieved 16 January 2023
15. "RSC Performances: Damian Lewis". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
16. "Pillars of the Community" (PDF). National Theatre Education Pack. National Theatre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
17. Kelleher, Terry (14 October 2002), "The Forsyte Saga". People. 58 (16):36
18. Rozen, Leah (19 September 2005), "Keane". People. 64 (12):40
19. Kauffmann, Stanley (19 September 2005), "Heights and Depths". New Republic. 233 (12):28–29
20. Travers, Peter (6 October 2005) "Keane". Rolling Stone . (984):164
21. "AFI Awards 2008". American Film Institute. 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
22. Fisher, Philip (2009). "The Misanthrope". British Theatre Guide. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
23. Benedict, David (18 December 2009). "The Misanthrope". Variety. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
24. Staff. "BBC Media Centre Programme Information – Afternoon Drama: Number 10". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
25. "Number 10". Radiolistings.co.uk. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
26. "Why we chose LFC and Istanbul". 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
27. Andreeva, Nellie (21 December 2010). "Damian Lewis Cast As The Male Lead In Showtime's Pilot 'Homeland'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 20 August 2011.
28. "The Love Book App, poetry read by great actors". Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
29. "Damian Lewis Suits Up for New Showtime Drama Billions". People. 11 August 2015.
30. Hattenstone, Simon (29 October 2022). "Damian Lewis on grief, espionage and his new musical ambitions: 'When someone dies prematurely, you're left careering in a different direction'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
31. Clarke, Naomi (13 April 2023). "Damian Lewis releases first single ahead of his debut album Mission Creep". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
32. ""Sod it, why can't I have a go at something else?": Hollywood star Damian Lewis on his debut album". www.musicweek.com. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
33. "Inspired by Music". Damian Lewis. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
34. Hartford, Maggie (16 July 2009). "Inspired by music". Oxford Mail . Retrieved 20 May 2023.
35. Jones, Cambridge; Prince's Trust (2009). Inspired by Music. Shoehorn. ISBN   978-1-907149-01-6 . Retrieved 20 May 2023.
36. Collins, Phil; Charles, Prince; Jones, Cambridge (26 November 2009). Inspired by Music . Retrieved 20 May 2023.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
37. Blank, Matthew (22 September 2010). "Photo call: Jonathan Pryce, Michael Sheen, Eddie Izzard, Anthony Hopkins featured in Cambridge Jones photo exhibit in NYC". Playbill. Retrieved 19 May 2023. Cambridge Jones's "Talking Pictures" appears at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts through Nov. 27. The exhibit will launch in early 2011 at the Chateau Marmont before moving to The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery March 3.
38. "Actor Signs up to Christian Aid Trade Campaign". 10 February 2006.
39. "Homeland and Peaky Blinders stars raise nearly £1m to feed NHS workers". BBC News. BBC. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
40. "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b13.
41. "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B10.
42. "Queen's Jubilee birthday honours: Damian Lewis, Stella McCartney and Clare Balding on list". BBC News. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
43. "Winners at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards". USA Today. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
44. "Damian Lewis: my depression after motorbike crash" . www.telegraph.co.uk. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
45. "Wolf Hall's Damian Lewis on the one thing he has in common with Henry VIII". The Independent. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
46. "Red hot: The irresistible rise of Damian Lewis". The Independent. 9 September 2006.
47. "The Mirror article". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
48. "Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory dies aged 52". BBC News. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
49. McCoid, Sophie (25 May 2018). "Damian Lewis posts cringeworthy video as he travels to Champions League Final". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
50. Kit, Borys (10 April 2018). "Damian Lewis to Play Controversial Ex-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
51. White, Peter (6 October 2021). "Damian Lewis & Guy Pearce Lead Cold War Limited Series 'A Spy Among Friends' For Spectrum Originals & BritBox UK". Deadline. Retrieved 1 March 2022.

External links

• Damian Lewis at IMDb
• Interview with Charlie Rose—A compilation of Rose's interviews with Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, the stars of the hit drama Homeland. 2 January 2014.