Categories Download Gallery Radio The Misanthrope Theatre

Jonathan Ross BBC Radio 2 programme, gallery update

  • 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.

Categories Gallery The Escapist The Misanthrope Theatre Your Highness

Outside the Comedy Theatre


  • Visit the Warehouse for new photos of Damian Lewis outside the Comedy Theatre on January 8, 2010 after a performance of The Misanthrope.

    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.

  • Click here for the first still photo from Your Highness; Damian isn’t in this picture but the set and the costumes look terrific!

  • Thanks to Monique for the news that French television network Cinecinema Frisson has been broadcasting The Escapist with Damian Lewis; check your local listings.

Categories Band of Brothers Chromophobia Gallery Interviews News Radio The Misanthrope Theatre

Broadway.com interview


  • Matt Wolf of Broadway.com published this terrific interview with Damian Lewis about his current role as Alceste in The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre in London’s West End.

    Paul Levy praised Damian’s portrayal of Alceste in his review for the Wall Street Journal.com.

    Visit the Warehouse for photos of Damian leaving the theatre on January 2, 2010.

  • Damian Lewis is scheduled to make a guest appearance on the Jonathan Ross show on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday January 16, 2010. The programme will run from 10am to 1pm and will be available for online listing live during the broadcast and on demand for 7 days after the broadcast. Thanks to Ann for the info and links!

  • The Wimbledon Film Club will screen Chromophobia starring Damian Lewis at the Odeon Wimbledon on January 14, 2010. Director Martha Fiennes will attend to present the film and answer questions; click here for more information.

  • In the US HBO is currently repeating Band of Brothers starring Damian Lewis. Episode 2 “Day of Days” will air on Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET. HBO subscribers can also access episodes on HBO On Demand at no additional charge through March 29, 2010.

    Two companion programs are also available on HBO On Demand, the documentary “We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company” and a featurette titled “The Making of Band of Brothers”.

  • Additional Damian Lewis performances available on US television this month include Dreamcatcher, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe; click here for more information and remember to check your local listings for accurate viewing information.

Categories Media Print Media The Misanthrope

Fame Becomes Her: The Misanthrope’s Damian Lewis Chats About Co-Star Keira Knightley, Theatre.com, January 6, 2010

Fame Becomes Her: The Misanthrope‘s Damian Lewis Chats About Co-Star Keira Knightley

It’s tempting, but misleading, to think of the new London production of The Misanthrope as “The Keira Knightley Show,” if only because the movies’ popular “it girl” is making her West End debut at the Comedy Theatre with director Thea Sharrock’s production of the 17th-century classic. In fact, Knightley has a supporting role as an American film actress named Jennifer (the play’s Celimene updated to today’s celebrity culture) in this rewrite by Martin Crimp of the Moliere original. But it is leading man Damian Lewis, making his own West End debut, who does the heavy lifting as the misanthropic Alceste, a man who can’t help but calling life’s fakery as he sees it—and who has the dubious luck to fall hard for Jennifer. Broadway.com caught up with Lewis, newly returned to London after several years in L.A. starring on the TV show Life, in the midst of the festive season, where the gifted, ever-articulate Londoner spoke of many things, including his famous co-star.

Continue reading Fame Becomes Her: The Misanthrope’s Damian Lewis Chats About Co-Star Keira Knightley, Theatre.com, January 6, 2010

Categories Life The Misanthrope Theatre

‘Misanthrope’ and ‘Life’ tidbits

  • Praise for Life starring Damian Lewis:

    Television critic Jeff Hidek of the Star News included Life in his list of “The Most Enjoyable Shows of 2009” and M. Begum of the Star Online wrote about “exciting liaisons” on TV saying:

    Life (2007) – It’s never enough to reiterate this fact: Life has been taken away from us way too soon. Sigh. It was enough just watching actor Damian Lewis fill out our TV screen as Detective Charlie Crews, making the most of his character’s strange antics and passion for fruits while trying to deal with his messed-up head from having served time in prison. At the same time, however, it’s interesting to see how Crews can invoke hilarious reaction from his partner, Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi) and then later, Jane Seever (Gabrielle Union). We miss that.

  • Thanks to Monique for the news that the TF1 network in France is currently rebroadcasting Life – Season One; the second episode will air on January 10, 2010, check your local listings.

  • Damian Lewis is currently starring in The Misanthrope at London’s Comedy Theatre; below are recent comments from lucky theatre patrons who had the opportunity to see the play:

  • » Alobear said: “Damian Lewis was excellent, by far the best performance, and the only actor who never struggled with the rhyming dialogue.”

    » According to LowKeyHighFlyer: “Damian Lewis is really excellent in the title role, confirming my opinion from seeing him on TV.”

  • Enjoy lovely new Damian Lewis icons from SongStressIcons and LittleNotebook .

  • “Damian Lewis – The Red Fox” is a new music video on YouTube by LoveGB1993.

Categories Gallery The Escapist The Misanthrope Theatre

‘Soldier, Husband, Daughter, Dad’ video clip


  • Click above to view a clip (posted on YouTube by stephharviecampbell) from episode 1 of Soldier, Husband, Daughter, Dad; this documentary series about British soldiers serving in Iraq and their families is narrated by Damian Lewis and originally aired on BBC One in 2005.

  • Spoilers! Click here for Just A Mon’s blog about The Misanthrope starring Damian Lewis.

  • Visit the Warehouse Gallery to enjoy new images of The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre in London’s West End district.

  • Critics and film buffs are currently compiling lists of the “Best Films of 2009” and The Escapist with Damian Lewis is appearing on some of these lists; click here and here for 2 examples. The film will be released in the US and Canada on Region 1 DVD on January 26, 2010.

Categories The Misanthrope Theatre Video

‘The Misanthrope’ news roundup


  • News from the blogosphere about The Misanthrope starring Damian Lewis:

    » Gem shared this press photo of Damian signing an autograph after borrowing her pen! She has also posted comments about the play at the Damian Lewis Yahoo! Group forum.

    » Parimal Satyal had this to say about Damian’s performance:

    Damian Lewis is amazing. The entire cast is brilliant, really, but Damian as Alceste absolutely shines. There’s something about the cynical, hyperbolic way in which he delivers his lines that gives him a somewhat comedic yet powerful presence on-stage.

    » In the Left Lane has posted some great photos taken inside and outside of The Comedy Theatre.

  • More reviews of The Misanthrope:

    » Christopher Gray of the Oxford Times said that the character of Alceste:

    …is brilliantly presented by Lewis, who really spits out the many cleverly crafted insults placed in his mouth by Martin Crimp in his neatly rhyming version in English.

  • » Ian Shuttleworth of the Financial Times gave the play 4 stars and said:

    Sharrock directs with a sensitivity towards the springy verse of Crimp’s text; Damian Lewis is nicely spiky as the pathologically plain-speaking Alceste (and even suffers a ginger-hair joke into the bargain), and it is heartening to see such a deliberately unsettling double-twist ending to a comedy on a West End stage.

  • New Life music videos on YouTube:

    » “Life: Charlie and Dani – Let you go” by Noomi65.

    » “Life – Running Up The Hill” by CSImaja.

Categories Gallery Site The Misanthrope Theatre

‘The Misanthrope’ pics and reviews



  • Click above to watch video shot by elizabethtoni at the December 17, 2009 “Press Night” for The Misanthrope starring Damian Lewis. The clip shows celebrities arriving at the play as well as footage from the stage door and shots of arrivals at the afterparty. Damian appears at 4:55 minutes into the clip and again at 6:00 minutes.

  • Click here at The Misanthrope‘s official site to order tickets through March 13, 2010. Interested in getting together with other fans to see the play? Click here at the Yahoo! Group for more information.

  • A couple of Warehouse Gallery updates for The Misanthrope:

    » Click here for photos of Damian leaving the Comedy Theatre on December 18, 2009.

    » Click here for more images from “Press Night” on December 17th.

  • Thank you to Ryanne for sharing the link to her photos from the December 19, 2009 performance of The Misanthrope.

  • Thanks to Leah for sharing links for more reviews for The Misanthrope:

    Susannah Clapp tells readers of The Observer this is:

    “…where you see the difference between an actor and a star. When Damian Lewis, the bilious anti-hero – or truth-telling hero – speaks, he makes you wonder why more plays aren’t written in verse. Alternately clenched with disgust and exploding into fountains of fulmination, he surfs the rhythm, and hits the rhymes as if they were thrown up by his disdain.

    For the Times Online Christopher Hart describes Lewis’s portrayal of Alceste as a:

    “…ranting, self-appointed social outcast, perversely proud of his gaucheries. And his rapid-fire delivery is excellent, like a Puritan hedge-preacher on full throttle.”

    Susan Crompton at The National says:

    “…In Damian Lewis’s biting performance, he rails against mankind, longing to live in a disinfected white box he hates human nature so much. But when faced with Jennifer’s beauty and allure, he goes all soppy, excusing her flirtatious behaviour with other men by saying: “She’s young and beautiful.”…

    There is a strange double irony in casting an inexperienced film star in a play that holds up the world of celebrity to coruscating attack. But the greatest compliment that can be paid to Knightley is that she holds her own as part of an ensemble of actors in Thea Sharrock’s sharp and enjoyable production who are all on very fine form – most notably Lewis, who brings to Alceste the perfect mixture of righteousness and ridiculousness…”

    According to Paul Taylor’s 4 star review for the The Independent:

    “Thea Sharrock’s revival of this 1996 contemporary update by Martin Crimp of Molière’s great satire against both the amoral courtly rumour-mill and courtly malpractice is an excellent, platinum-cast treat.

    Played by a brilliantly tetchy and (to just the right degree) faintly ridiculous Damian Lewis, the misanthropic Alceste is transformed into a terminally disgruntled playwright in Crimp’s adaptation. The world he hates is the sycophantic, nepotistic, nihilistic media village of sloppy, relativistic postmodernism. So if there’s a practice he’d be almost bound to abhor it is that of casting film stars in plays such as his, and he’d dislike it all the more because the major flaw in his armour is that he has allowed himself to fall for a bitchy Hollywood starlet called Jennifer.”

  • Holiday TV viewing for US Damian Lewis fans (check your local listings):

    » HBX2e will air Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker on Tuesday, December 22nd at 6:15 PM and again on Wednesday, December 30th at 6:55 AM.

    » Spike TV is offering a Band of Brothers marathon beginning Saturday, Dec 26th at 11:00 AM (thanks to Ann for the information!)

    » Cinemax will broadcast Dreamcatcher on Tuesday, December 29th at 4:30 PM.

    Click here for the updated schedule.

  • Enjoy this Damian Lewis montage posted on YouTube by iNeonCookies.

Categories The Misanthrope Theatre

New vid, more afterparty pics and reviews


  • Click above to watch a video clip from the London Evening Standard featuring Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley inThe Misanthrope.

  • A couple gallery updates:

    A few “curtain call” photos appearing in What’s On Stage have also been added to the The Misanthrope album here.

    Visit the Warehouse for more pictures of Damian and the cast at the afterparty last night at the IOD in Pall Mall.

  • Sarah Cromptom of The Telegraph says “Damian Lewis is just wonderful!” in this video review for The Telegraph that includes clips from The Misanthrope.

  • Charles Spencer of The Telegraph says of Damian’s performance in The Misanthrope:

    Lewis delivers his rants with precision and wit, but also suggests a genuinely pitiable character getting ever closer to the end of his rope, his misanthropy in part a mask for his own corrosive sense of fear and failure.

Categories Gallery The Misanthrope Theatre

More ‘Misanthrope’ stills, afterparty pics, reviews

  • It was ‘Press Night’ for The Misanthrope on Thursday! Click here at the gallery for pictures of Damian Lewis outside The Comedy Theatre and at the afterparty at the Institute Of Directors.

  • More stills have been added to The Misanthrope album here including new ones from the play’s official site (thanks to Ann for the headsup).

  • The first Press Night reviews:

    From The Independent:

    …Thea Sharrock’s excellent, platinum-cast revival of this 1996 contemporary update by Martin Crimp of Molière’s great satire … Played by a brilliantly tetchy and (to just the right degree) faintly ridiculous Damian Lewis (think fashionable Etonian hunk rendered all the more dogmatic by a tiny worm of self-doubt), the misanthropic Alceste is transformed into a terminally disgruntled playwright in Crimp’s adaptation.

    Read the rest here

    From the Guardian:

    Damian Lewis has the right mix of righteous anger and comic absurdity as Alceste. There’s a tell-tale moment when, having inveighed against the human race, he is asked about his paradoxical passion for Jennifer. “She’s young and vulnerable,” says Lewis in the gooey, forgiving tones of the besotted intellectual. And, although he finally sees through Jennifer’s fickleness, he never lets us forget that sex is often the idealist’s achilles heel.

    Read the rest here

  • Other press items:

    Wednesday’s Today program on BBC Radio 4 featured interviews with Damian and Keira Knightley. Click here on the Audio page to download the clip. (Thanks to Kaz!)

    A preview in Shortlist Magazine describes Damian as “contender for smoothest man” 😀 and in “top form”. Click here for the scan. (Again, courtesy of Kaz.)

    The Guardian has a very useful “bluffer’s guide to the plot.”

Categories Gallery The Misanthrope Theatre

New ‘Misanthrope’ stills and a fan report

  • Gallery update: I’ve added 17 large press stills with Damian Lewis here in The Misanthrope album. About half of them are new, others are larger than the one’s previously uploaded.

  • More early fan reaction: Great blog review of the play here with notes on how friendly Damian was afterwards when they met him and got his autograph!

    There’s also a short blurb here in the comments area of the This is London preview.