The star of The Forsyte Saga, 39, lives in London with his wife, the actress Helen McCrory, and their two children
I used to be a bit of a party animal. These days I can’t go out relentlessly and be a father as well. I have two children, aged 3 and 2, so instead I tend to do silly “dad” things such as going on 150-mile bike rides with my friends just to prove that we can do it. We did a ride in the Cambrian Mountains and Brecon Beacons over three days at Easter out of a sense of adventure, but we’ve all been in physiotherapy ever since.
I’ve got my own five-a-side football team called the Tufnell Touch. It’s just me and a few mates: five fit, handsome men struggling with mid-life crises. There aren’t any other celebrities in the team: they can be temperamental, and you need a strong mind to play with me.
I started playing football aged 6, but back then, I was just banging footballs over the playground netting and getting into trouble with the nuns.
I’m naturally a pale, skinny Englishman, so if I need to get some muscles, I go on little fitness regimes. Sometimes I’ll get a personal trainer, other times it will be weights in the trailer. There are very few sports that I won’t do. Though you’ll never see me curling.
Maintaining my “girlish” figure is a constant worry. But really, if you’ve ever played competitive sport to a half-decent level, you get used to being in shape. I don’t do it for work, I do it to be healthy.
Continue reading Damian Lewis Interview, The Times, June 1, 2010