John le Carre – Page 8

Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce and Anna Maxwell Martin Discuss A Spy Among Friends

On November 22, 2022November 27, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Spies Like Us

by Richard Godwin and Caroline Frost | Radio Times | November 22, 2022

Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce are among the most acclaimed actors of their generation. Lewis has transformed himself into a tortured US soldier in Homeland, a volatile Henry VIII in Wolf Hall, an obnoxious hedge-fund manager in Billions – and any number of Shakespearean roles. Pearce sprang from the Australian soap Neighbours into a wide-ranging career, with roles including a drag queen, action heroes and a lovelorn English King.

But neither man has anything on Kim Philby, the British intelligence officer unmasked as a Soviet double-agent as part of the Cambridge Spy Ring, which included Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt, and whose web of deception has been a subject of endless fascination since his exposure in 1962. Lewis sees Philby’s treachery as “part of British folklore.”

First look photos here

Continue reading Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce and Anna Maxwell Martin Discuss A Spy Among Friends

Our Kind of Traitor Poll Print Media

The 7 Most Underrated Spy Movies of the 2010s

On July 10, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Our Kind of Traitor

by Liam Gaugham | Collider | July 10, 2021

Spy movies remain a popular genre thanks to the continued success of the James Bond and Mission: Impossible franchises. Argo and Zero Dark Thirty emerged as awards contenders that provided a grittier look at modern intelligence, and action-comedies like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the Kingsman franchise have offered more subversive takes. However, there’s no shortage of great spy movies from the past decade that haven’t found an audience yet, and deserve more attention from film fans.

Check out these top-tier espionage thrillers from the past decade you may have missed.

Continue reading The 7 Most Underrated Spy Movies of the 2010s

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Lewis Pulls Covers Off Espionage – Nov 4, 2019

On November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 By Gingersnap Comments Off

From Espionage to History

by Debashine Thangevelo | Cape Argus / IOL / International | November 4, 2019

Damian Lewis is a recognizable face on the big and small screen. Of late, he has been praised for his roles as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall and Bobby Axelrod in Billions. He was also cast as Steve McQueen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood. And let us not forget his role as Nicholas Brody in Homeland.

Having covered a gamut of genres, from espionage to history, it does make his latest stint as a narrator for History’s Damian Lewis: Spy Wars almost surreal.

“This Mossad mission, I’m sure 98% of people watching won’t have heard of this story. So, I think it’s a little glimpse through a window of what they did; it’s an incredible story. You will sit and watch and be utterly engaged. I think that’s true of all our stories. Even the Argo story – we come in from a slightly different angle with a bit more backstory, from the intelligence part of it rather than the film making aspect of it.”

On being a part of this project he adds, “As soon as you put yourself in front of a camera, or in front of an audience, as a performer, there’s a whole intricate web of thoughts that run through your head – how you want to be presented and how can you successfully be a credible part of your show, your story, whatever it is – and we had to work quite quickly.”

“I was flying in and out of New York from Billions and we had a budget, obviously, we had to be aware of.”

Continue reading Lewis Pulls Covers Off Espionage – Nov 4, 2019

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Broadcasters Sign Up for A+E’s Damian Lewis: Spy Wars – Oct 11, 2019

On October 11, 2019 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Going Global

by Joseph O’Halloran | Rapid TV News | October 11, 2019 -and-
by Peter White | Deadline | October 11, 2019

As we head into the leading global content trade show and world’s entertainment market MIPCOM 2019 next week, A+E Networks and A+E Networks UK have signed a slew of top international broadcasters for its latest factual co-production, Damian Lewis: Spy Wars.

Earlier this year we reported here that Spy Wars was heading to the Smithsonian Channel for US markets, a joint venture between CBS Corporation’s Showtime and the Smithsonian Institute. And now it seems other broadcasters will be joining Smithsonian Channel’s lead. The docu-drama currently airing on History UK and Blaze in the UK will now be available in the following markets: Blue Ant (Canada); POP TV (Slovenia); Bilibil.com (China); TVNZ (New Zealand); Historia and Atresmedia (Spain). A+E Networks says that multiple other deals are in negotiation. No word yet when television viewing audiences in other countries will see Damian hit their small screens, but rumor has it early 2020 for US customers.

In the series, award-winning actor Damian Lewis unpacks some of the most thrilling covert missions in modern-day history with the help of new declassified information, high-profile experts, and intelligence officers who were there. The program ranges from the most notorious spy exchange of recent times to the fake film production that freed Americans during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis to in-depth profiles of the world’s most skilled and lethal double agents and has been described as James Bond meets every John le Carré thriller you’ve ever read.

Damian Lewis: Spy Wars is executive produced by Alaska TV’s Chris Fouracre, Ian Lamarra, and Paul Sommers in association with Lewis’ own recently launched Rookery Productions with brother Gareth Lewis.

Read the rest of the original article at Rapid TV News
Secondary Source: Deadline

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Boarding School Creates a Mild Sociopathy That’s Helpful to the Life of Espionage – Oct 4, 2019

On October 4, 2019 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Damian Makes His First Documentary Spy Wars With His Brother

by Lisa Campbell | iNews | October 4, 2019

Few British actors have set foot inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, but as the star of the American spy thriller, Homeland, Damian Lewis was granted unprecedented access as part of his research.

While he jokes that his meeting with the director of the CIA, John Brennan, is “classified”, the story demonstrates his ability to get under the skin of characters through keen observation of the tiniest details. He describes the “incredibly poker-faced field operatives who had revealed only the smallest increments of expression and emotion, until Brennan walked in and the temperature in the room rose instantaneously.”

It’s an experience that stood him in good stead for his latest project, Damian Lewis: Spy Wars, which also marks his first foray into factual television.

The eight-part series – the first to come out of Lewis’ newly-launched Rookery Productions – airs on History from Monday in the UK and showcases the true stories and remarkable characters behind some of the most important international spy operations of recent years.

“I’ve done a lot of research over my career for Homeland and a movie I made, Our Kind of Traitor, and have read my John le Carre like everyone else. I enjoy the genre and thought it was an opportunity to look behind these popular stories and find out something a bit more intimate and personal about the people themselves, their decisions and the ramifications on global politics,” he says.

Continue reading Boarding School Creates a Mild Sociopathy That’s Helpful to the Life of Espionage – Oct 4, 2019

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Radio Times Magazine Interview – Oct 2, 2019

On October 2, 2019July 12, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Could the Next James Bond Be Ginger? The Famous Redhead Rules Himself Out

by Kristy Lang | Radio Times Magazine | Issue: October 5-11, 2019

In a five-star hotel suite high above the City of London, Damian Lewis and I have a ginger bonding moment. As a fellow redhead, I’ve long admired his rise through the acting world. Not many gingers get leading-man status, but after starring in series such as Band of Brothers, Homeland and Billions, Lewis is big in American.

We’re meeting to discuss his first venture into the world of documentaries, fronting and producing a series about spies on the History channel.

Lewis, now 48, was born in London but was sent to boarding school at a young age, which, he thinks, would make him a very good spy.

“If you are sent away from your family at the age of eight, it gives you a rigor, a dissociative quality that is extremely useful for spies because they have to be able to shut down parts of their emotional life. That’s why the British secret services actively recruited public schoolboys. Guy Burgess is the most extreme example of that. He was flamboyant, charming and mostly drunk – how he didn’t reveal what he was doing is a mystery to me.”

Continue reading Radio Times Magazine Interview – Oct 2, 2019

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The Real Stories Behind Some of the World’s Most Intriguing Espionage Cases – Sept 27, 2019

On September 27, 2019 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Spy Wars: kNOw More Secrets

by Nicole Lampert | Weekend Magazine | September 27, 2019

Damian Lewis thinks he would probably make a good spy, partly because of his schooling. Some of Britain’s best known spies – and traitors – went to public school, and the Eton- educated actor isn’t surprised.

‘If you’re sent away from home at the age of eight and you’re asked to cope with that situation, I think there’s an instinctive compartmentalising of one’s emotional life,’ he says.

‘That’s very helpful to a covert life of espionage. It helps you develop a mild sociopathy, which is clearly what spies need to have. Often they’re living multiple lives, not just double ones.

‘I think I’d be a good spy, better than James Bond, who’s a rubbish spy,’ he adds, despite being one of the favourites to take over the role from Daniel Craig.

‘What’s brilliant about Bond is his recovery. Each movie is two hours of him getting himself out of a massive mistake he made quite early on.’

It’s little wonder he’s fascinated by spies. He won acclaim as soldier-turned-potential-terrorist Nick Brody in Homeland, and was cast as MI6 agent Hector in the film adaptation of John le Carré novel Our Kind Of Traitor.

But as outlandish as those stories were, they don’t compare to the twists and turns in the real spy dramas he explores in his first documentary series, Damian Lewis: Spy Wars.

Continue reading The Real Stories Behind Some of the World’s Most Intriguing Espionage Cases – Sept 27, 2019

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Damian Lewis Looks at Real Life Spies in History’s New DocuDrama – Sept 12, 2019

On September 12, 2019September 19, 2019 By Gingersnap Comments Off

From Our Kind of Traitor to Spy Wars

by Matthew Bell | Royal Television Society | September 12, 2019

Having played a fictional spy in the John le Carré adaptation Our Kind of Traitor and a turncoat in long-running US thriller Homeland, Damian Lewis has turned presenter for History’s new espionage series.

The actor was initially reluctant when his brother, Gareth – one of the executive producers of Damian Lewis: Spy Wars – asked him to present. “I hadn’t done factual [before] and I don’t consider myself a presenter.

“But I enjoy the [spy] genre and I thought it was an opportunity to look behind these popular stories and see if we could unearth something a bit more intimate about the people themselves, and the ramifications on global politics of very personal decisions taken by individuals.”

Lewis was talking after a screening of an episode of Damian Lewis: Spy Wars at the British Museum in mid-September.

Continue reading Damian Lewis Looks at Real Life Spies in History’s New DocuDrama – Sept 12, 2019

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Hector’s House – Nov 9, 2018

On November 9, 2018November 10, 2018 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Our Kind of Traitor: A Behind the Scenes Filming Location

by Betty Wood | The Spaces | November 9, 2018

The home of MI6 agent Hector Meredith, played by Damian in the 2016 adaptation of John Le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor, has been listed as ‘Property of the Week’ for a cool £1.495m.

The three-bedroom Langton Way property was built to a design by architects Peter Foggo and David Thomas in the early 1960s and is nestled, almost hidden, behind an inconspicuous brick wall in London’s Blackheath. The midcentury home has cocooning timber-lined interiors with rooms that are packed with warm wooden surfaces, including maple floors and pine ceilings. Floating cedar partitions informally divide its open-play layout while floor-to-ceiling glass bookends the main living spaces, creating sight-lines to its leafy garden. There is a wood-burning stove and white-washed brick walls, and a huge skylight channels light into the living room. Take a tour and view the slideshow here.

Read the rest of the original article at The Spaces

Our Kind of Traitor TV/Film Projects

Our Kind of Traitor on the Telly This Sunday – Feb 13, 2018

On February 13, 2018February 15, 2018 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Announcement: Damian on the Telly in the UK

by What’s On TV | February 13, 2018

When: Sunday, February 18
Where: Channel 4
Who: Lucky fans in the UK

Synopsis: On holiday in Marrakesh, ordinary couple Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris are caught up in the murky world of Russian dirty money.

McGregor and Harris are trying to repair their fraying marriage, with McGregor’s university lecturer smarting with guilt over an affair with a student and somewhat emasculated by lawyer wife Harris’ higher-earning profession.

He unexpectedly befriends a flamboyantly gregarious, very wealthy, Russian (Stellan Skarsgård) and gets a brief taste of his luxurious existence.

However, he turns out to be a money launderer for the Russian mafia and wants McGregor to pass information to MI6 about his boss’s dealings with leading members of the British establishment.

However, Lewis’ devious superiors are reluctant to grant what Skarsgård requires in return – asylum in Britain for his imperiled family.

Continue reading Our Kind of Traitor on the Telly This Sunday – Feb 13, 2018

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Damian Lewis Reads John le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor, September 3, 2016

On September 3, 2016October 8, 2017 By Damianista Comments Off

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Damian Lewis on Researching his Next Big Role, Collective Hub, July 18, 2016

On July 18, 2016October 15, 2017 By Damianista Comments Off

Homeland’s Damian Lewis on Researching His Next Big Role

by JAMES MOTTRAM – Collective Hub – July 18, 2016

Hedge fund managers and intelligence officers? Damian Lewis has been there, played that.

Source: Collective Hub/Getty

If there’s one good thing about being an actor – aside from securing the best tables in restaurants – it’s who you meet when researching a role. Take Damian Lewis, the 45-year-old British star of Band of Brothers, Homeland and Wolf Hall. For his new TV show, Billions, he hung with financial aficionados, while prep for Our Kind of Traitor, a new movie adaptation of the John le Carré novel which launches in Australia on July 14, saw him lunching with real-life “spooks”. Money talks, it seems… and so does Damian. Continue reading Damian Lewis on Researching his Next Big Role, Collective Hub, July 18, 2016