NBC… is the network, after all, that had no idea what a treasure it had in its recent Damian Lewis crime show Life.

He was dressed casual, sweatpants from what I remember and was unshaven. He had just come out of a restaurant at lunchtime. And yes he did look as handsome and striking in person as he is on the screen.

The film punches well above its clearly low budget weight, thanks to some fine acting – notably from Cox, who dominates the film, Damian Lewis’ chilling psycho and Joseph Fiennes’s scarily pumped-up con. Accept the verdict and serve time with Cox and company and you won’t be disappointed – and you’ll be rewarded by an ingenious and unexpected twist, too. EIGHT OUT OF TEN Daily Star


An excellent British crime film with none of the embarrassing ‘cor blimey’ caper of previous Brit outings… Brian Cox is outstanding as an aging screw with nothing to loose, while Damian Lewis simmers as the prison boss…The Escapist proves that British actors and film makers don’t need to rely on SFX to get your blood pumping. Josh Woodfin – FHM


…an impressively pumped up Joe Fiennes, while Damian Lewis is icily threatening as the prison’s calculating big shot. Red

Damian Lewis walked past us this afternoon carrying a Next bag. First proper Hollywood actor I’ve ever seen in Belfast.

“It’s an important but small role,” admits Damian of his character. “I see Rizza as the evil centre of the prison. He’s a self styled prison boss, he’s running the prison from the inside. He has to control his younger brother who’s a loose cannon.”


“Rizza is an unusual kind of figure in the prison: the prison and the people inside the prison were his boys and that’s how he wanted it to be. He never wanted his authority challenged; he’d do anything to maintain that status quo. It’s quite an effeminate role and that ties in nicely with the brother. There’s malevolence but effeteness at the same time.”


Damian especially enjoyed the moral ambiguities of Rizza. “He’s very affectionate about his brother – he’d do anything to protect him but he’s utterly ruthless. You have to be to remain at the top in this setting. He does business daily through violence and intimidation, but I liked the idea that there was something effeminate about him – something preening and self-regarding. He’s a thug but also a weird feminine sophistication.”