Damian Lewis

Setting Off on Tour

by Emma Palmer | Essex Life Magazine | March 2024 Issue

He may be a Hollywood movie star, but A-list actor Damian Lewis has closer ties to little old Essex than you might think. Not only does the 53-year-old, known for his roles in Homeland, Billions, Band of Brothers and Wolf Hall, own a house in a picturesque part of north Essex, he’s preparing to hit the stage at the Palace Theatre in Southend this month-just don’t expect him to be acting.

Hardcore fans of the red-haired heartthrob will already have been aware of his musical abilities, but it wasn’t until 2022 when he released his debut album, Mission Creep, that the rest of the world was introduced to the vocal and compositional talents of Mr. Lewis.

As well as starring in some of the most successful TV shows in recent years, the star was and is, an accomplished guitar player.

As a child he never stopped playing and even went busking around Europe in his twenties before he decided to plough his efforts into acting.

But even though acting roles such as captured US Marine Nicholas Brody in Homeland, hedge fund trader Bobby Axelrod in Billions and more recently as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall, catapulted him to global stardom, it’s music that remains a driving force in his ongoing career.

Lewis would occasionally perform at wrap parties on film sets as part of a scratch band but when Covid and the ensuing lockdowns hit, he realised he, at last, had time and space away from a busy acting schedule to throw himself into playing and writing songs. With the additional maturity and experience that life has given him the ideas for tunes and lyrics began to flow.

Continue reading Damian Lewis Looking Forward to Southend Show and Chats About His Spring Tour and His Essex Home