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‘Homeland’: Damian Lewis Talks Brody’s Return, Rock Bottom and TV Fatherhood, Hollywood Reporter, October 13, 2013

‘Homeland’: Damian Lewis Talks Brody’s Return, Rock Bottom and TV Fatherhood

The actor tells THR about his alter ego's increasingly rough road: "For the amount of crying we've been doing for three years…the amount of times I've been pissed on and beaten up naked in showers, I actually should look quite a lot older."
Showtime
Damian Lewis
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three of Homeland]With the exception of a few moments with a still-unhinged Carrie (Claire Danes), Sunday’s Homeland, “Tower of David,” focused squarely on the state of Brody (Damian Lewis), who’s been on the lam and missing in action since the third season premiered in September.

And while viewers probably suspected dire straits awaiting the most-wanted man in the world, they might not have been prepared for how dark things have become for the recently absentee lead.

Nearly written out twice already, Brody is now a fugitive turned prisoner, stuck in a Venezuelan highrise slum and shooting heroin to try to forget about how supremely crappy his lot in life has become. Lewis — who, like producers, wrapped the second season of the Showtime series with no idea of how he’d be included in its return — chatted with The Hollywood Reporter about learning to love the show without him, horror over his TV daughter’s sexy storyline, and the seemingly endless amount of physical and emotional abuse his character continues to endure.

How did you feel watching the first two episodes of the season without Brody?

You may never hear me say this again, but I didn’t miss me. And I was kind of surprised. I think what was in [Brody’s] place is so compelling and brilliant. I love the fact that they’ve taken time to appraise what happened at the CIA and these hearings take place. People must take responsibility for and deal with the consequences of what happened. I think that is a sophisticated and nuanced way to start the season. I really didn’t miss Brody at all, and hope saying that does not get myself out of a job. I know people are curious as to where Brody is, but I hope after episode three it’s going to be a new kind of dynamic — more than people just sitting there going, “Jesus, Brody, it really didn’t turn out too good for him.” They are going to go into this other world where Brody is. It feels a little bit like a waking nightmare, like another reality. It’s a bit like a standalone. Maybe that will be disorientating to some people, but I think people are going to love it. I hope they do.

Read the rest of the article here.