Categories Forsyte Saga Poll Print Media

30 Best Period Dramas to Watch for an Escape

The Forsyte Saga

by Elena Nicolaou and Cassie Hurwitz | Oprah Daily | August 23, 2022

From elaborate costumes to sumptuous storylines (and the strong desire to live in a time other than the present)—there is so much to love about period dramas. With the push of a button, these TV series and movies act as instant portals into other eras. The only question is: Where do you want to time-travel first?

Each of these shows and films explores an era in history, through the lenses of both the upper class and everyday people. For Tudor buffs, there’s a series that ventures into the early days of King Henry VIII’s notorious rule—through the eyes of his first wife. Regency fans have a movie that looks at what life was like for a young Black woman in a wealthy family during that era; then, of course, there’s Bridgerton. Many period dramas are based in this era, the time of Shakespeare and the Tudors, or the 18th century, but we’ve also included a few that take place in the 20th century, too, like a series that chronicles working in a hospital at the turn of the century to a 1950s drama about the dangers of racism.

Some stories come from real-life events, while others are adapted from classic novels or are completely fictional glimpses into life during that particular era. And, fear not, there are quite a few sweeping romances. We’ve also included Spanish-language picks, since period dramas are hardly limited by geographic region. Here are some of our favorite period dramas streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Starz, and beyond.

#17
The Forsyte Saga (2002-2003)

Based on the Nobel Prize-winning work of John Galsworthy, this 10-part series follows England’s wealthy Forsyte family from the 1870s to the 1920s. It’s a highbrow show with soap-opera-worthy plots. Starring: Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, Gina McKee. Watch on Amazon Prime here

Continue reading 30 Best Period Dramas to Watch for an Escape

Categories Forsyte Saga Poll Print Media Wolf Hall

Masterpiece (PBS/BBC) Favorites of a More Recent Vintage – Jan 8, 2021

Two for Damian: Wolf Hall and The Forsyte Saga

by Matthew Gilbert | Boston Globe | January 7, 2021

Here are some of my favorite Masterpiece shows, in no particular order. I have restricted the list to those that have aired in the past 25 years, which is why you won’t see the well-known classics, including I, Claudius, The Jewel in the Crown, House of Cards, Elizabeth R, or Prime Suspect.

Wolf Hall (2015)

Based on Hilary Mantel’s Henry VIII novels, the mesmerizing six-parter takes place from the point of view of the King’s most trusted advisor, Thomas Cromwell, played by a quietly sardonic Mark Rylance. This isn’t the bodice-ripping, horse-hopping likes of Showtime’s The Tudors; it’s elegant, downbeat, authentically lit, intensely acted, and clever and relevant when it comes to 16th-century politics. Damian Lewis is Henry, Jonathan Pryce is Cardinal Wolsey, and Claire Foy is Anne Boleyn.

Continue reading Masterpiece (PBS/BBC) Favorites of a More Recent Vintage – Jan 8, 2021

Categories Forsyte Saga Print Media

Ten Actors Who Shone Even Before They Were Stars – June 28, 2018

Damian Lewis: The Guy Has Been a Godsend to TV

by Matthew Gilbert | Boston Globe | June 28, 2018

Damian Lewis as Soames Forsyte & Gina McKee as his wife in the 2002 miniseries The Forsyte Saga

A lot of the TV actors and actresses we’ve come to love have a past. Turns out that before they could get a good table at an exclusive restaurant, they were nonetheless doing some fine work. Here are 10 examples of memorable early performances by now famous actors and actresses.

DAMIAN LEWIS

“The Forsyte Saga”

The guy has been a godsend to TV, with his work on “Homeland,” “Billions,” “Wolf Hall,” “Band of Brothers,” and a fine network procedural called “Life,” on which he played a cop released from prison on DNA evidence. I have a particular fondness for his work on “The Forsyte Saga,” a 2002-03 adaptation of John Galsworthy’s novels and a remake of a seminal late-1960s PBS series. It’s an engrossing literary soap about a wealthy family torn between passion and Victorian repression, with Lewis’s Soames Forsyte as the upholder of the latter. Lewis is ice cold, pale, and pathetic, as Soames clings to his Victorian delusions, stuffing his emotions down, his eyes a brutish blue. As his unloving wife, Irene, Gina McKee is perfection.

Read the rest of the original article at Boston Globe

Categories Appearances Media Print Media TV/Film Projects

Damian Lewis Rocks Times Talks at Directors Guild Theatre, Fan Fun with Damian Lewis, June 25, 2016

Damian Lewis ROCKS Times Talks at Directors Guild Theater

by Damianista, Fan Fun with Damian Lewis, June 25, 2016

source: Times Talks Program
source: Times Talks Program

Damian Lewis was the guest of celebrated Times Talks on June 23 at Directors Guild Theater and had a great conversation with Cara Buckley, a New York Times culture reporter and the new Carpetbagger.

Read the rest of the story on Fan Fun with Damian Lewis

Categories Homeland Media Print Media The Forsyte Saga

Emmys Watch: Damian Lewis on ‘Homeland’ and ‘The Forsyte Saga’, New York Times, September 21, 2012

Emmys Watch: Damian Lewis on ‘Homeland’ and ‘The Forsyte Saga’

Photo

Damian Lewis in a scene from “Homeland.”
Damian Lewis in a scene from “Homeland.”Credit Kent Smith/Showtime

On Sunday night at the Emmy Awards, Showtime’s geopolitical thriller “Homeland,” which returns for its second season on Sept. 30, will vie to end the four-year reign of “Mad Men” as television’s top drama. Damian Lewis, who stars as the P.O.W.-turned-plotter-turned-politician Nicholas Brody, was also nominated for best actor in a drama.

Continue reading Emmys Watch: Damian Lewis on ‘Homeland’ and ‘The Forsyte Saga’, New York Times, September 21, 2012

Categories Homeland Media Print Media

Interview: Damian Lewis, actor and star of The Sweeney, The Scotsman, September 2, 2012

Interview: Damian Lewis, actor and star of The Sweeney Damian Lewis, actor and star of The Sweeney.

12:56 Sunday 02 September 2012

FRESH from the US hit Homeland, which won him fans in high places, Damian Lewis is relishing his role in a great British classic set on his home turf Continue reading Interview: Damian Lewis, actor and star of The Sweeney, The Scotsman, September 2, 2012

Categories Band of Brothers Keane Media Print Media Richard Winters The Forsyte Saga

Damian Lewis: Cherwell Salutes You – May 11, 2011

Damian Lewis: Cherwell Salutes You

Damian Lewis is making me a cup of tea. Dressed in Ugg boots, a checked shirt and a stylish knit cardigan, he’s every inch the metrosexual, cool guy about town: down with the kids in more ways than one, he has to head off after the interview to read his children a bedtime story.

Continue reading Damian Lewis: Cherwell Salutes You – May 11, 2011

Categories An Unfinished Life Chromophobia Gallery Magazine Media Print Media The Forsyte Saga The Situation

Let’s Dance – Fall 2005

Damian Lewis at The Dorchester

by Natalie Theo | Factory Magazine | Fall Issue, 2005

Damian Lewis really wants to be Widow Twanky. Thankfully Factory has asked him to camp it up as an all-dancing James Bond hero for its shoot at the Dorchester Hotel’s London ballroom. “I went through a lot of pantomime when I was young – I mostly wanted to be Widow Twanky”. Well, as I say, thank God we are more 007 today. You see I am blushingly helping Damian Lewis into a pair of elegant black Ralph Lauren trousers, shirt and diamond studded De Beers cufflinks. We are tucked away in the dark refines of the Dorchester ballroom’s coat check cubicle.

The men’s loos are unavailable for trouser tucking. Better to be tucking him into a Ralph Lauren number rather than a figure moulding pair of panto tights. Lewis has gamely agreed to swirl six dashing young actresses dripping in De Beers diamonds and slinking about in Ralph Lauren eveningwear for the day with his very own barman, sent along on orders from Dublin courtesy of Jameson Irish Whiskey, to see him through. His lead role as Major Richard Winters in HBO’s Band of Brothers, produced and part directed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, precedes a slew of feature films due for September and early 2006 releases: Lasse Hallstrom’s An Unfinished Life; Brides produced by Martin Scorsese; Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane; Phillip Haas’ The Situation; and Martha Fiennes Chromophobia. So I can’t quite believe Widow Twanky is the be all and end all of the ultimate hero situation.

Continue reading Let’s Dance – Fall 2005

Categories Colditz Media Personal and Family Life Print Media

Damian Lewis: ‘British women are weird’, Sunday Mirror, March 27, 2005

DAMIAN LEWIS: `British women are weird’ Actor and red-hot redhead Damian Lewis, 34, talks about his kinky fans, pinching girls’ bums, and why he’s a born liar.

by Louise Burke, Sunday Mirror, March 27, 2005

You star in new ITV drama From Colditz With Love, as a prisoner of war who joins the Secret Service. Are you a gadget man?

Damien Lewis: I like my sports car. I just got a little Mazda MX5 – it’s only a cheap and cheerful one really. It’s titanium, a sort of greyish colour. I’m not exactly obsessed by toys. I don’t have a plasma TV, just a normal one, though I suppose it’s still quite big. I do have an i-Pod, although I need to learn how to download my music. You can pay people to do that can’t you? I heard you can pay someone pounds 200 and they’ll download you 5,000 songs. I think I’ll do that, because to be honest, I’m a bit clueless.

Is it true you were asked to audition for the new Bond movie?

DL: That isn’t strictly true. I have never auditioned for the role of James Bond. It would be difficult not to consider it – helicopter rides to sunny locations and let’s not forget the Bond girls. Halle Berry was pretty good in that bikini, but my favourite was Grace Jones.

Continue reading Damian Lewis: ‘British women are weird’, Sunday Mirror, March 27, 2005

Categories Media Print Media The Forsyte Saga

Damian Lewis Interview, Sunday Express, May 25, 2003

Damian Lewis looks terrible. With his copper-coloured hair slicked back and his fair skin etched with lines, he could pass for 60. Which is a tribute to the make-up artists who have just aged him for 30 years for his part in The Forsyte Saga. Continue reading Damian Lewis Interview, Sunday Express, May 25, 2003

Categories Dreamcatcher Media Print Media The Forsyte Saga

PBS Masterpiece Interview with Damian Lewis, May 2003

From a Repressed Tortured Soul to a Possessed College Professor

by Staff | PBS Masterpiece | May, 2003

Whether they realized it or not, viewers of the popular Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks miniseries Band of Brothers were watching an English actor in the starring role of Major Richard Winters, the taciturn American hero of an airborne unit during World War II. The real Major Winters is salt of the earth from Pennsylvania. The actor Damian Lewis is from London’s Abbey Road and attended Eton. Otherwise, you’d never know the difference.

While on hiatus between the production of series one and two of The Forsyte Saga, Lewis played Jonesy, a possessed college professor in the forthcoming film of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher.

Lewis recently talked by phone from London about the Forsyte remake, Soames’s inner life, and what it’s like to play an alien.

Continue reading PBS Masterpiece Interview with Damian Lewis, May 2003

Categories Print Media The Forsyte Saga

I’m Not as Screwed Up as Soames – April 4, 2002

I’m Not as Screwed Up as Soames

by Daphne Lockyer – The Evening Standard – 4 April 2002

Damian Lewis has been parking his motorbike somewhere in the bowels of London Television Centre. As a result of his wind-blown journey he is trying to instil order into his appearance as he approaches, running long fingers through a mop of messed-up hair that is, rather dramatically, the colour of blood oranges.

What with the whiff of tungsten and motorbike oil and all that Easy Rider stuff, it’s difficult for a moment to imagine him as Soames – the quintessential, lavender-scented, tightly corseted, late 19th century man – in Granada TV’s much-vaunted remake of The Forsyte Saga. He just seems too, well, modern.

“Ah, Soames,” he says, sitting down now, rubbing together chilly, bluetinged hands. “Dependable, upper-middle class, privately educated, solid, fastidious, arrogant, meticulous, emotionally repressed … I had to button myself down considerably when I was playing him.”

For all that, some of the adjectives at least apply to Damian himself. He’s an Old Etonian, after all, and there’s a certain classy self-assurance about him that only a very expensive education tends to buy.

“I can see why they cast me,” he says, “but I’m a lot more ef fusive than Soames – a lot less screwed up. I also don’t express my dangerous side by expecting my wife (if I had one) to flip onto her back and think of England.

“There is something quite pinched and ugly about the character, the kind of thing that meant you needed a couple of drinks at the end of a day playing him to shake the guy off. But I didn’t dislike him – I wouldn’t have been able to play him if I did. If I thought he was just a Machiavellian bastard, I wouldn’t have given him any chance to redeem himself. And as far as I’m concerned, no character, including Soames, should ever truly be beyond redemption.”

Continue reading I’m Not as Screwed Up as Soames – April 4, 2002