– Orwell 2+2=5 –
Damian will guest-join Romesh live in the studio at 10:00 a.m. GMT to chat about the documentary Orwell: 2+2=5.
Although the doc was released in the US back in October 2025, it is now available in UK and Irish cinemas as of Friday, March 27, 2026.
Directed by Raoul Peck, the film explores George Orwell’s life and the continued relevance of his political works with narration by Damian. The 1-hour 59-minute film explores authoritarianism and Orwell’s legacy, featuring archival footage and insights.
The full, recorded programme will be available shortly after broadcast for 29 days. If the link below does not work in your area, try downloading the BBC Sounds app and listen to the Romesh Ranganathan show from there. Damian’s segment begins at about 1:11:51.
Damian shared that he is typically enjoying his homemade marmalade spread on a slice of sourdough on a Saturday morning. He said he’s obsessed with making his own marmalade from Seville oranges and begins the process in late January, early February.
Romesh asked Damian about the documentary Orwell 2+2=5 and the two spoke a while about Orwell and the film. Damian said he got involved in the project because he felt the topic was relevant and interesting. He also shared he had a bit of a connection with Orwell from voicing his talking statue that is erected outside the BBC building.
When it comes to picking his next project, Damian shared he simply responds in the moment to what is put in front of him – if it excites him, if it’s brilliant, if he responds to it personally, he does it. “There is a brief conversation with yourself, asking if it’s a good thing, the right thing, to do. On the whole, there is a balance in that you weigh if you can be doing the project in a few years time.” (e.g. a series)
The conversation then shifted to Damian’s music. Romesh told the listening audience that sometimes he lets his guest pick the next song to play, but declared this is the first time ever on his programme that he’s played the actual guest’s song. Romesh then played ‘Sweet Chaos,’ the first single and title track of Damian’s sophomoric album of the same name, set to release June 5, 2026.
As for touring, Damian shared he will play around 20, 25, or 30 UK dates between October and November of 2026.
Romesh then asked his listening audience to text in with any connections one might have to Damian.
One of Romesh’s listeners sent in this connection: “I used to work for Damian’s father, Watcyn. My wife stole Damian’s dog in Norfolk because it looked exactly like my sister’s dog, who we were staying with, but she gave the dog back.” Damian laughed and said thank you, he has the dog back.
Another listener’s connection was: “I saw Damian in Cornish [unintelligible audio] while walking around South Milton Street about 18 years ago.” Damian responded he remembered being looked at weirdly from afar 😉
Romesh reported another listener said: “Romesh, can we please just talk about how good Damian’s song was for a second?” Romesh’s Travel Reporter Sally then stated that Damian was so talented, a polymath.
Speaking of multi-talented, Romesh asked Damian if it was true he could play his teeth. Of course he can! Watch here. Damian explained he learned it from his father and now his son can do it – a proud family tradition 😉 Damian then proceeded to play William Tell’s Overture for the listening audience. It was great! The studio erupted in cheers – “unbelievable!” “amazing!” “that delivered!” and “very impressive!”
Watch Damian play William Tell’s Overture on his teeth in video below:
Romesh then turned to asking questions from his listening audience. First question was, “Hello, Damian. Is there any chance Homeland will return and will you be in it with flashbacks.” Damian replied, “Interesting. Don’t think so, Ben. I’m Sorry.” Damian then went on to share, “When Homeland was at it’s hottest and I was being stopped in the street all the time, a woman came up to me and I was carrying all this shopping, and she went ‘OH MY. IS IT YOU? IS IT YOU? I LOVE YOU IN THAT HOMEBASE.” lol Homebase…not Homeland.
The next question was, “How was Damian’s experience working with Quentin Tarantino on Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood?” Damian answered, “Sensational. Who doesn’t want to play Steve McQueen in a Quentin Tarantino movie? He loves the filming process and his knowledge is encyclopedic. He’s got a vast brain and he is sort of a one-man band. It’s entirely his vision. He likes working with actors and likes being around actors. He’s very good with notes for actors because he’s done a bit of acting himself. It was always a pleasure, actually. There’s a tradition right at the end of every shoot, just the final shot of the day – it’s called The Martini that goes way back to old Hollywood – but he would call it The Bloody Mary. Then someone would arrive with an enormous pint of Bloody Mary and that’s how he’d go out at the end of the day, instead of the martinis.”
Ramesh then focused back on connections: “I helped Damian many years ago to get his mum a seat in the South Bank Show Awards.” Damian replied, “Bless you, thank you.”
Another connection was shared: “Hi. I’m a good friend of Damian’s cousin Briney.” Damian responded, “Could be well true. Briney is one of my favorite…maybe my FAVORITE cousin.”
Another connection: “Many years ago I stood next to Damian watching Punch and Judy at the Lord Mayor’s children’s party at Mansion House.” Damian replied, “Yep, also possibly true.”
Ramesh: “These are great connections.”
Damian: “My social life is sounding fantastic.”
Another connection: “My friend used to go out with Damian’s very good-looking brother Gareth.” Damian responded, “Ohhh. Well…he is a bit of a Romeo, that Gareth. So…wonder who it was, though?”
Another connection: “I went to University of Bristol with Damian’s niece Malika. I wasn’t aware of the family connection until her 21st birthday where I recognized a man dressed up as clown. Turns out this clown was Damian.” Damian laughed and joked, “That is sweet of you, but I was actually just dressed in my own clothes.Thank you.”
Ramesh thanked Damian for being on his show and being a brilliant guest.
