Billions – Page 43 – Damian Lewis

What David Costabile Says About Working with Damian – March 15, 2019

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David Costabile as Wags

by Jay Bobbin | On TV Today | March 15, 2019

If you’re crafty hedge-fund manager Bobby “Axe” Axelrod of “Billions,” you need somebody you can trust.

His right-hand man — played by David Costabile — is Mike “Wags” Wagner, who can get dirty protecting Axe’s dealings on the New York-set drama series that starts its fourth season Sunday, March 17, on Showtime and (in Canada) The Movie Network. In the first new episode, Axe (Damian Lewis) comes to the rescue of the rough-around-the-edges yet very well-spoken Wags, who vanishes while trying to keep Axe’s business afloat after a major betrayal by analyst turned rival Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon).

“I have so much fun doing it, it’s almost illegal,” the good-humored Costabile says of his “Billions” role, “and throughout this season, I get to be fully Wags. The writers like challenging themselves, and they certainly like challenging me to do more and more outrageous and insane things. They and I have an equally fun time trying to jump over the bar they’ve set, which is high.”

Costabile credits fellow stage veteran Lewis with bringing equal comfort to the Axe-and-Wags relationship: “There’s just a commonality about how we work that is really easy between the two of us. I think there is a great generosity about the two of us working together to make something slightly comedic. We don’t even talk about how we’re going to do it.”

Read the rest of the original article at On TV Today

Billions Season 4 Goes for Broke – March 15, 2019

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**“Billions shifts around enough of its usual architecture to still feel fresh in its fourth season”**

by Kathryn VanArendonk | Vulture | March 15, 2019

When TV shows have been around for a few seasons, sometimes they get relaxed and hit the autopilot button. Some shows do the opposite, blowing everything up to start completely fresh, an option that usually involves major casting changes, time jumps, or entirely new premises. Season four of Billions charts a middle path, shifting around enough of its usual architecture to feel fresh, while also continuing to follow most of its original characters and stories.

That assessment may sound a touch milquetoast — more of the same, but different! And it’s true: If you liked Billions before, you will continue to like it now. If you didn’t, well, the same idea applies. But the thing I appreciated most about the first four episodes of Billions’ fourth season is the way they go about changing things: The characters are the same, but most of the relationships have inverted. Bad-boy hedge-fund genius Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) is now working on the same team as his mortal nemesis, U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti). Axelrod is now tilted against his former wunderkind protégé, Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), who’s started their own competitor fund and is poaching Axelrod talent. It’s fun to keep the game board mostly the same while swapping all the usual allegiances. It’s especially satisfying to watch Chuck and Bobby scheme together.

More than that, though, there’s been a palpably goofy, go-for-broke mentality lurking inside Billions for the last three seasons, and season four is not shy about turning that dial up to 11. Billions’ goofy chaos impulse has always lived most noticeably in David Costabile’s Wags, Bobby Axelrod’s right-hand man who is half devoted servant, half trickster god. Now it feels like that energy is leaking out everywhere. You can sense it in the way Billions positions Chuck and Bobby to team up, and in John Malkovich’s unsubtle guest-starring role as the powerful Russian mobster Grigor Andolov, and in Taylor striking out on their own to take down the master.

Continue reading Billions Season 4 Goes for Broke – March 15, 2019

Billions Interviews Print Media

Billions: Brian Koppelman and David Levien on Money, Power, and American Gods – March 15, 2019

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The Privileges of Gods and Kings

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | March 15, 2019

From Wall Street to Washington, the world of “Billions” is a world at war. According to David Levien, one of the creators and showrunners for the series, that’s by design.

“If you look at kings and Caesars and emperors throughout history and literature, there’s not a lot of guys who sat through a very peaceful, enjoyable reign,” he said. “Gods and kings: That’s what these people think they are.”

“They need people to battle against,” added Brian Koppelman, who is also a creator and showrunner for the show. (Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times financial columnist, is the third creator.)

As “Billions” returns to Showtime on Sunday for Season 4, its two central combatants face a remade version of that world, newly allied with enemies to spare. The hedge fund billionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) is primed for vengeance against his former protégé Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon). Meanwhile, the former United States attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) must contend with investigations into his past conduct by the Trump era attorney general Jock Jeffcoat (Clancy Brown).

Continue reading Billions: Brian Koppelman and David Levien on Money, Power, and American Gods – March 15, 2019

Billions Print Media

Maggie Siff on How Billions Adapted to the #MeToo and Time’s Up Era – March 14, 2019

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Billions: Evolution of the Hit Drama

by Evan Real | Hollywood Reporter | March 14, 2019

The Showtime star opens up to The Hollywood Reporter about the evolution of the hit drama, noting that the writers room is “very tuned in to” today’s social climate.

It was a different time when Billions first premiered on Showtime in January of 2016. Donald Trump wasn’t president, and “toxic masculinity” wasn’t as much of a catch phrase as it is now. But more than three years and four seasons later, society’s surge of feminism in the #MeToo and Time’s Up era has also penetrated the writers room of the hit drama.

In a recent In Studio interview with The Hollywood Reporter, star Maggie Siff — who plays self-possessed psychiatrist Wendy Rhoades on Billions — explained how the series has adapted to the current social climate.

Continue reading Maggie Siff on How Billions Adapted to the #MeToo and Time’s Up Era – March 14, 2019

Video

VIDEO: The Philosophy of Billions – March 14, 2019

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Billions in 17:47 Minutes

by Wisecrack | March 14, 2019

Thanks to Billions on Showtime for sponsoring this episode! And don’t miss the new season, beginning Sunday, March 17th.

Billions Print Media Review

Billions Review: Better Than Ever – March 14, 2019

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“Billions has a habit of inverting ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ then leaving us — the viewer — to figure out how we got suckered by all these pirates in the first place.”

by Verne Gay | Newsday | March 14, 2019

SERIES “Billions”

WHEN | WHERE Season 4 premiere Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime

WHAT IT’S ABOUT In the fourth season — the first four episodes were available for review — former antagonists Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and hedge fund pirate Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) have joined forces — each needing something from the other. This isn’t just about money, but about payback. For “Axe,” that would be Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), off now running a rival firm, and Russian oligarch Grigor Andolov (John Malkovich). For Chuck, that would be an array of targets, beginning with the feckless attorney general who dumped him last season, Jock Jeffcoat (Clancy Brown), and his replacement as U.S. attorney for the Southern District, Bryan Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore). As usual, Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff) has to carefully navigate her way among the egos.

Continue reading Billions Review: Better Than Ever – March 14, 2019

Audio Billions Interviews Podcast

Podcast: The Relatability of Bobby Axelrod in Billions

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There’s a Sincerity to the Cynicism of a Gangster

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | March 14, 2019

Bomani welcomes the co-creator of Showtime’s “Billions” Brian Koppelman back to the show ahead of the premiere of Season 4 on Sunday 3/17. They discuss how he’s humanized the billionaire class, the range of casting in the show (15:39), how much he’s enjoyed working on it (33:02) and whether or not either of them would change if they became “billionaires” (41:51).

new #TheRightTime with @briankoppelman! we talk about billions and…well, rich people. they’re something else. https://t.co/Qo478vMkJt pic.twitter.com/QIKRvjZjXk

— bomani (@bomani_jones) March 14, 2019

Listen to The Right Time podcast here

Second podcast:

Thrilled to run down @BrianKoppelman & @DavidLevien to chop it up about #Billions, Rounders, @JockoWillink, chasing dreams with great rigor, and so much more. Brilliant dudes.

Listen: https://t.co/QLfY8YNBbo pic.twitter.com/0mAxW6KSbL

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) March 12, 2019

Listen to The Jim Rome podcast here

Billions Print Media

Explaining Hedge Funds for Fans of Showtime’s Billions – March 14, 2019

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“You get one life, so do it all.”

by Richard Glunt | Money Wise | March 14, 2019

Showtime’s hit series Billions follows the exploits of hedge fund billionaire Bobby “Axe” Axelrod. He navigates the quasi-legal waters of investing huge amounts of borrowed capital through his firm Axe Capital.

All the while, Bobby is hounded by U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades, who is committed to stamping out the types of financial crimes committed by infamous hedge fund managers such as Bernie Madoff and “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli.

Learn more about the world of hedge funds and how Billions — back for its fourth season — compares to the real world of high-risk investment.

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Billions Interviews Print Media

Billions Star Paul Giamatti on Turning Chuck and Axe from Rivals to Allies in Season 4 – March 14, 2019

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**Flipping the Dynamic that Billions was Built On**

by Derek Lawrence | Entertainment Weekly | March 14, 2019

Chuck Rhoades and Bobby Axelrod still have a billion problems, but their long-standing rivalry is no longer one of them…for now.

When Billions returns on Sunday for season 4, Chuck (Paul Giamatti) and Axe (Damian Lewis) find themselves in a new position: drinking buddies and cautious allies. This new development in the relationship will surely be welcome considering they’re each dealing with more than enough: Chuck is out as U.S. Attorney and his run for governor was shelved following the threat of his unorthodox sex life coming to light, while Axe is determined to bring down his former protégé Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon), who has struck out on their own.

With plenty of political maneuvering and money trading ahead, EW talked with Giamatti about flipping the dynamic that Billions was built on.

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Billions Interviews Print Media

“F**king Wags!”: A Cup of Coffee With David Costabile, Prestige TV’s Most Important Character Actor – March 14, 2019

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From Wags to Gale, David Costabile is TV’s Most Efficient Player

by Miles Surrey | The Ringer | March 14, 2019

You may know him better as the eccentric financial consigliere in ‘Billions,’ or as the editor in Season 5 of ‘The Wire,’ or as the meek chemist in ‘Breaking Bad,’ but after years of efficiently impressive work, the actor is beginning to transcend his That Guy status.

seen David Costabile, but you may not have known that his name is David Costabile. To you, he’s probably Gale, the quirky scientist from the third and fourth seasons of Breaking Bad. Or perhaps more likely, he’s Mike “Wags” Wagner, the eccentric financial consigliere to hedge fund manager Bobby “Axe” Axelrod on Showtime’s finance drama Billions; he’s the man full of bravado and creative obscenities, the guy with the pointy facial hair that evokes Satan. When traveling in Europe, he mostly meets fans of Breaking Bad. Oddly enough, a disproportionately large number of New York City doormen, as well as TSA agents, are most familiar with his work in Suits. Venture to guess where the largest ratio of Wags fans are found? “If I go down to the Financial District, if I go to Midtown, my bros are there,” Costabile says. “My financial bros.”

Continue reading “F**king Wags!”: A Cup of Coffee With David Costabile, Prestige TV’s Most Important Character Actor – March 14, 2019

Billions Fashion and Style Print Media

‘Billions,’ ‘Succession’ and the Making of Wealth Porn – March 14, 2019

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The Ultrawealthy. The 1 Percent of the 1 Percent

by Alexis Soloski | New York Times | March 14, 2019

Eric Daman, the “Billions” costume designer, works with the actor Damian Lewis on set. Credit Antonio Santos for The New York Times

Two years ago, Aidan Sleeper needed to find an apartment.

Sleeper, the locations manager for “Billions,” returning Sunday for its fourth season on Showtime, scouted more than 100 places that list for tens of millions of dollars, but he couldn’t find the right one. “It was impossible,” he said.

The apartment wasn’t for his own use — he and his wife rent in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. No, he had to lock down a Manhattan residence for Bobby Axelrod, the “Billions” hedge fund phenom played by Damian Lewis. The space couldn’t be comfortable or cozy. It needed to intimidate, astound, overwhelm, gut punch your breath away.

“We always joke, ‘billionaire, not millionaire,’” Sleeper said on a January morning at the “Billions” production office in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as he scrolled through a desktop folder of photos. He clicked for a moment on a $65 million triplex that hadn’t impressed him when he toured it: “You walk in there and it’s like, really?” He shrugged and scrolled on.

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Billions Print Media

Billions is Back for Season Four – March 14, 2019

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Billions is Back with Oscar® Nominee and Emmy® and Golden Globe® Winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe Winner Damian Lewis

by Rick and Christina Gables | TV Weekly Now | March 13, 2019

When everyone is out for revenge, no one is safe. This is never more true than in season four of BILLIONS. Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades, former enemies, and Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff), the chief counselor to each, have come together to form an uneasy but highly effective alliance, aimed at the eradication of all their rivals, including Grigor Andolov (guest star John Malkovich), Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), Bryan Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore) and Waylon “Jock” Jeffcoat (guest star Clancy Brown).

Ambition and betrayal have long been at the heart of Billions, and this season all the characters find out exactly how high a price they’ll have to pay to satisfy those needs. The series also stars David Costabile, Condola Rashad, Kelly AuCoin, Jeffrey DeMunn and Malin Akerman, along with new guest stars Samantha Mathis, Kevin Pollak, Jade Eshete and Nina Arianda.

Read the rest of the original article at TV Weekly Now