Damian Lewis
Actor, Dad, Redhead, and Ping Pong Champion
Categories Interviews Media Print Media The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

An Actor is Always Reinventing Himself Through his Characters: An Interview with Damian Lewis – April 23, 2017

An Actor is Always Reinventing Himself Through His Characters

by Staff | London Calling | April 23, 2017

‘An actor is always reinventing himself through his characters’ - An Interview with Damian Lewis

Having ventured from the hallowed halls of England’s most historic school to the very top of transatlantic television, Damian Lewis is returning to the city – and the stage – of his youth with a starring role in Ian Rickson’s revival of the Edward Albee-penned The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

As much as some people may find it a step too far to have a ginger James Bond, Damian Lewis has seen his name thrown into that ring many times. But while with his Old Etonian credentials it may seem like a natural fit, for the past few years the flame-haired thespian has owed his career to starring roles on the other side of the pond.

Continue reading An Actor is Always Reinventing Himself Through his Characters: An Interview with Damian Lewis – April 23, 2017

Categories Interviews Media Personal and Family Life Print Media The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

Damian Lewis on Why He’s Happy to be a Heart-Throb and Those James Bond Rumors – Feb 2, 2017

His blockbuster TV roles have made him a global star but Damian Lewis’s heart will always belong to north London. He speaks to Charlotte Edwardes

by CHARLOTTE EDWARDES |

GIEVES & HAWKES jacket, £795 (gievesandhawkes.com). Zadig & Voltaire jumper, £245 (zadig-et-voltaire.com). Maurice Lacroix watch, £3,245 (mauricelacroix.com). HUGO BOSS T-shirt, £59 (hugoboss.com). Boots, £195 (russelland bromley.com)
GIEVES & HAWKES jacket, £795 (gievesandhawkes.com). Zadig & Voltaire jumper, £245 (zadig-et-voltaire.com). Maurice Lacroix watch, £3,245 (mauricelacroix.com). HUGO BOSS T-shirt, £59 (hugoboss.com). Boots, £195 (russelland bromley.com) Source: Tomo Brejc/Evening Standard

Damian Lewis is not as charming as he first seems. And I mean that as a compliment. Sure he can schmooze: he remembers everyone’s name, their kids’ names, their mum’s name — given half a chance he’d ask after hip ops and bunions — and he’s a great giver of bear hugs, back slaps and pumping handshakes. After 10 minutes in the pub where we meet, he has the room eating from his paw. Not because he’s a Hollywood actor, a veritable red-carpet ‘celeb’ with blockbuster TV shows such as Homeland and Billions under his belt, but because he engages everyone. For instance, he identifies the indie rock on the sound system and turns towards the bar, arms wide, crying: ‘Oh my God, who likes The Shins?’ A busboy steps forward and is congratulated. It’s great theatre.

But in truth, Lewis is a bit angry. And no I’m not reducing him to the cliché of the fiery redhead; he says this himself. He’s angry about big things: greed, selfishness, prejudice. But also smaller things, such as bad driving (‘Makes me crazy!’) or the street lighting in Tufnell Park (‘Why can’t we have lovely charming ones like Canonbury?’) or litterbugs (which he would definitely argue was a big thing). ‘I’m not averse to telling people off,’ he says. And do they reply, ‘Hold on aren’t you…?’ ‘Ha! No. It’s more: “Who the hell are you and why are you telling me what to do?”’

Continue reading Damian Lewis on Why He’s Happy to be a Heart-Throb and Those James Bond Rumors – Feb 2, 2017

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media

Damian Lewis is Accompanied by Proud Wife Helen McCrory as They Celebrate the Opening Night of his Play American Buffalo – April 28, 2015

American Buffalo Opening Night

Celebration: Damian Lewis was accompanied by his wife, Helen McCrory, to celebrate the opening night of his West End play, American Bufflalo, at London's National Cafe on Monday

After shocking fans with his radical new moustachioed look, Damian Lewis took to the stage for his West End play American Buffalo‘s opening night on Monday.

And his wife of eight years, Helen McCrory, was there to cheer him on as he wowed the audience with his lead turn opposite John Goodman and Tom Sturridge at London’s Wyndham Theatre.

Once the curtains were closed on the star-studded night, the couple were seen lovingly linking arms as they made their way to the nearby National Cafe to kick off celebrations.

Continue reading Damian Lewis is Accompanied by Proud Wife Helen McCrory as They Celebrate the Opening Night of his Play American Buffalo – April 28, 2015

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media Theatre

Damian Lewis and John Goodman Head Up This Starry West End of David Mamet’s Classic Play About Small Time Crooks – April 28, 2015

Damian Lewis and John Goodman head up this starry West End of David Mamet’s classic play about small time crooks

by Andrzej Lukowski – Time Out London – 28 April 2015

It would be mean, cheap and generally a bit dickish to say that Damian Lewis’s big post-‘Homeland’, post-‘Wolf Hall’ return to the London stage is overshadowed by some comedy facial hair. Nonetheless: if you think the above photo of his moustache is a bit on the distracting side then seriously, you should see the thing live.

David Mamet’s classic 1975 play ‘American Buffalo’ is a three hander, and in Daniel Evans’s enjoyable but busy production, Lewis, rising Brit talent Tom Sturridge, and old American hand John Goodman each sort of do their own thing to entertaining if not entirely cohesive effect.

Continue reading Damian Lewis and John Goodman Head Up This Starry West End of David Mamet’s Classic Play About Small Time Crooks – April 28, 2015

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media Theatre

American Buffalo Star Damian Lewis Says Wife Helen McCrory is a Fan of His Seventies Porn Star Moustache – April 28, 2015

American Buffalo star Damian Lewis says Wife Helen McCrory is a Fan of His ‘Seventies Porn Star’ Moustache

by – LOUISE JURY – Evening Standard – April 28, 2015

Double act: Damian Lewis with his wife Helen McCrory at the opening night party (Picture: Dave Benett)

Damian Lewis showed off a substantial Seventies moustache at the opening night of his latest play – and claimed his wife was fine with it.

Continue reading American Buffalo Star Damian Lewis Says Wife Helen McCrory is a Fan of His Seventies Porn Star Moustache – April 28, 2015

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media Theatre

Review: American Buffalo Four Stars – April 28, 2015

Review: American Buffalo, Wyndham’s Theatre

David Mamet’s muscular comedy, starring John Goodman, Tom Sturridge and Damian Lewis, is revived with style

By Lucy Brooks – Culture Whisper – April 28, 2015

American Buffalo cast, photo by Johan Persson

American Buffalo is typical David Mamet: a taut three-hander that’s all talk. The dynamic between the have-a-go-hustlers is testosterone-heavy, meaty and littered with expletives. Action is sparse and the characters are dissatisfied outliers of the American Dream.

This revival brings the shabby clutter of a Chicago junk shop to London with loving attention to detail and the stylish touch of assorted Americana suspended from above, penning in a claustrophobic stage. Within this shop interior we see the rhythms of everyday life, full of gripes over money lost in poker and what to eat for breakfast. But when the titular American Buffalo, a 24-karat bullion coin minted in 2006 by the US government, gives a chance to make a quick buck, a convoluted plan emerges, warps and collapses.

John Goodman, superbly cast as long-suffering shopkeeper Don, negates a contradictory mixture of self-seeking ambition, caution and sympathy as he is persuaded to evolve his petty criminal plans and replace the dopey sidekick Bobby with smooth-talking Teach. His expressiveness ekes out the comedy between the lines, and as the only American on stage, Goodman’s natural cadence makes Mamet’s script feel the most vivid.

Already under the spotlight thanks to a starring role in Far From the Madding Crowd, Tom Sturridge as Bobby holds his own on stage, keeping the spacey slur just subtle enough to leave us guessing over his sobriety. And while there is plenty of humour, there is nothing parodic about his portrayal of a recently recovering addict; vulnerability and pathos stay close to the surface.

But Damian Lewis stole the show. Oozing seventies sleaze with a flared burgundy suit, handlebar ‘tache and sideburns, he masters the gift of the gab. As the charismatic but usurping Teach he had not just the characters but the audience eating out his hand.  And for all the flashiness, Lewis also reveals underlying insecurities. All the insidious self-promotion and confidence in talking down others is offset by a deep discontentment, conveyed in a rare moment of wordlessness and flash of frenzied action.

Damian Lewis and John Goodman in American Buffalo

Continue reading Review: American Buffalo Four Stars – April 28, 2015

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media Theatre

American Buffalo Proves the Perfect Vehicle for Welsh Director – April 28, 2015

American Buffalo proves the perfect vehicle for Welsh director Daniel Evans

Homeland star Damian Lewis and American actor John Goodman have teamed up for the London production

by Philip Fisher – Wales Online – 5 April 2015

In the hands of Rhondda-born actor/director Daniel Evans , David Mamet’s gritty drama American Buffalo about small-time cons in Chicago 40 years ago is the perfect star vehicle.

The cast of three consists of Homeland’s Damian Lewis , a major star on both sides of the Atlantic, John Goodman of Roseanne and Coen Brothers movie fame plus Sienna Miller’s real-life partner and up-and-coming movie heartthrob, Tom Sturridge.

Goodman plays Donnie, the affable but gullible proprietor of a junk shop that he probably believes is an antique store. Designer Paul Wills not only fills it with worthless detritus but wittily has much more of the same symbolically suspended above the hapless trio.

americanbuffalo-promostill-045

Lewis is unrecognisable but excellent as Teach, a wannabe gangster with Shaft-style 1970s facial hair and evil inclinations.

Read the rest of the original article at Wales Online

 

Categories American Buffalo Interviews Radio

BBC Radio 4 Front Row Interview

American Buffalo

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 23, 2015

Damian Lewis and director Daniel Evans were on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Thursday to discuss American Buffalo. Click here to listen to the interview on the BBC website. Click here to download it from the Media section.

American Buffalo is at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London until June 27th. Visit the Delfont Mackintosh Theatres website for more ticket information.

Categories American Buffalo Media Print Media

Damian Lewis: Red Hot, Sunday Times, April 12, 2015

Original article at the Times

Red hot

Back on the London stage after years of top TV, what could the thoughtful actor Damian Lewis possibly have to worry about?

(Francesco Guidicini)

Bryan Appleyard
April 12 2015, 1:01am Continue reading Damian Lewis: Red Hot, Sunday Times, April 12, 2015