Gallery update: Click here at the gallery for pictures of Damian Lewis leaving Comedy Theatre and at The Ivy restaurant on Saturday.

Click below for Youtube videos of Damian at The South Bank Awards Show last Tuesday.

At the 1:20 mark:

At the 2:15 mark:

Damian leaving the Comedy Theatre last week:

Thanks to Ann and G for the headsup!

A couple more positive reviews for The Escapist which was released on DVD in the US this past week:

Amy Longsdorf of The Record

Brian Cox, so good as Hannibal Lecter in “Manhunter,” goes behind bars once again for a gritty prison drama with a whooper of a twist ending. Cox plays a lifer determined to break out of a London penitentiary in time to save his estranged junkie daughter from certain death. Brutally violent, the film benefits from fine performances by Dominic Cooper, Joseph Fiennes, Steven MacKintosh and Damian Lewis.

David Roark of Pegasusnews.com

The Escapist, however, exceeds the confines of its genre by relying on its characters and their realism rather than the formula, though without fleeing from stock elements, resulting in a raw and believable film that leaves you thinking. … Beyond realistic characters, Wyatt takes the genre a step further with metaphor. Though it’s subtle and slightly ambiguous, this element adds an interesting twist. Not to mention, the way it plays out is captivating.

Gallery updates: Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory attended The South Bank Awards Show on Tuesday. Click here at the gallery for pictures of the pair looking gorgeous!

A reminder: The Escapist dvd was released in the US on Tuesday! Click here for links. Some press reviews:

Tom Russo of The Boston Globe:

What immediately grabs you about first-time filmmaker Rupert Wyatt’s British jailbreak flick is the fresh cast: Sympathetic lifer Brian Cox makes a dash for it with a group that includes Joseph Fiennes and Dominic Cooper (The History Boys). (Damian Lewis of Life is the bippy-topped kingpin of their gonzo, Mad Max-imum security pen.) What will keep you intrigued is their commitment to minimalist dialogue, which makes a terrific puzzle out of the story’s jumps back and forth between planning and execution.

Chris Ball of The Plain Dealer:

A convict serving a life sentence in a decrepit London prison becomes determined to break out when he learns his estranged daughter is terminally ill. He recruits some trustworthy inmates and hatches an elaborate scheme, but the biggest threat to his plan comes not from the corrupt guards but from the psycho prisoners who run the joint. This smashing 2008 thriller culminates in a satisfying surprise ending.

Billy O’ Keefe of the McClatchy-Tribune

Is there room for another no-nonsense prison escape film in a world that’s already seen so many? If it receives the level of care this one receives, then yes, yes there is. … All that energy instead goes toward assembling a roster of deeply engaging characters (Damian Lewis, Seu Jorge, Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Liam Cunningham, Steven Mackintosh) who embody characteristics one expects from hardened convicts while still managing to avoid the usual stereotypes and pratfalls that undermine so many prison films.

Gallery updates: Click here for pictures of Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory at J Sheekey restaurant on Tuesday, Jan 19th and here for pictures of Damian and Helen leaving the Comedy Theatre on Wednesday, Jan 20th.

From the LAT blog Culture Monster:

Audiences are also paying as much as 50 pounds (about $85) to see Keira Knightley’s West End debut in an updated English version of Moliere’s The Misanthrope which includes a throw-away line about the ticket price. Critical opinion of Knightley’s performance has been mixed, but the show is one of several sold-out shows rumored to be bound for New York.

Let there be some basis to this rumor! :O

The Flemish tv channel Canvas will begin rebroadcasting Band of Brothers on February 5th at
20h40. Click here for more info. Thanks to Linda for the news!

Damian Lewis was a guest on Saturday’s Jonathan Ross BBC Radio 2 programme. Click here on the BBC website to listen to the show. ETA: Click here to download the interview in mp3 format from our Audio page. Thanks again to Kaz!

Gallery updates: Click here for pictures of Damian Lewis outside the BBC Radio studios on Friday, Jan 15th.

There are also new pics of Damian leaving the Comedy Theatre on Friday, Jan 15th and Saturday, Jan 16th.

Click here for a picture of him outside the theatre on Wednesday, Jan 13th.

Thanks to ‘loozy’ at livejournal for sharing her pics of Damian taken outside the theatre on Jan 8th. Read her ‘meeting Damian’ story at her journal.

Faber has published The Misanthrope: In a Version by Martin Crimp with Damian on the cover. Click here for links. Thanks to june for the headsup!

Band of Brothers on livejournal: Read about the new Band of Brothers challenge at The Aldbourne Whores community; click here and here for part 1 and 2 of Renne’s epic Transcript Project (illustrated transcript of BOB); there’s also a massive “The Men of Easy Company” picspam for you hardcore fans to enjoy.

There aren’t many men that manage to look sexy in a rumpled, checkered shirt!

Click here for more onstage photos of Damian and Keira Knightley.