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Damian Lewis

 
Actor: Damian Lewis
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Feb 11, 1971 in St. John's Wood, London, England
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama
  • Career Highlights: Keane, The Forsyte Saga: Part 2 - To Let, The Forsyte Saga
  • First Major Screen Credit: Warriors (1999)

Biography

London-born actor Damian Lewis cultivated a reputation in the press not only for his well-received performances, but for his ability to effectively slip out of his English accent and into American characterizations. The actor first came to prominence in the early 2000s via his participation in the Steven Spielberg WWII miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) on HBO, then delivered a pair of high-profile cinematic portrayals over the next three years: as a man who gets possessed by an extraterrestrial in the widely panned Stephen King/Lawrence Kasdan horror opus Dreamcatcher (2003) -- and a critically acclaimed lead role as a schizophrenic father bereft of his little girl in Lodge Kerrigan's psychodrama Keane (2004). Lewis's turn as a volatile and psychotic ex-husband opposite Jennifer Lopez in Lasse Hallström's An Unfinished Life turned a few heads; unfortunately, Miramax shelved the film after its production in 2003, and it failed to reach theaters before the fall of 2005. Thereafter, Lewis signed for a lead role opposite Connie Nielsen and Mido Hamada in the politically charged thriller The Situation (2006) and garnered a lead on the small-screen series drama Life, as a former police officer once sentenced to years in jail for a crime he did not commit, who, now exonerated, returns to his old career. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
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Filmography: Damian Lewis
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Dreamcatcher

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The Forsyte Saga: Part 2 - To Let

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The Forsyte Saga

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Wikipedia: Damian Lewis
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Damian Lewis
Born Damian Watcyn Lewis
11 February 1971 (1971-02-11) (age 38)
St. John's Wood, Westminster, England
Occupation actor, film producer
Years active 1993-present
Spouse(s) Helen McCrory (2007-present) 2 children

Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February, 1971) is an English actor and producer, who is best known for portraying Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers[1] and Soames Forsyte in the ITV miniseries The Forsyte Saga. He recently starred as Detective Charlie Crews in the NBC drama Life.

Contents

Biography

Early life

I went to English boarding schools and grew up around people very much like Soames and in a milieu very much like the Forsytes's
—Damian Lewis, PBS.org (2002)[2]

Lewis was born in St. John's Wood, Westminster, the son of Charlotte Mary (née Bowater) and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker.[3][4] His paternal grandparents were Welsh.[5] His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn (a doctor to the royal family) and philanthropist Alfred Yarrow.[3][6] Lewis was brought up an Anglican.

Lewis made several visits to the United States to visit relatives during his summers as a child.[7][8] He first decided to become an actor at age 16.[4] He was educated at the independent Ashdown House School in the village of Forest Row in East Sussex and at Eton College and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, after which he served as a stage actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company. During his time with the RSC, he played Borgheim in Adrian Noble's production of Ibsen's Little Eyolf, as well as Posthumus in Shakespeare's Cymbeline. He has also starred in another of Ibsen's plays, Pillars of the Community.

He once worked as a telemarketer selling car alarms, a job he detested.[9]

Career

Lewis also appeared in Jonathan Kent's production of Hamlet, playing Laertes opposite Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet. This production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who subsequently cast Lewis as Richard Winters in the HBO/BBC World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, his first role of several that required a credible American accent.[7]

Lewis (left) as Richard Winters in Band of Brothers

Subsequently, Lewis has played Soames Forsyte in the ITV series The Forsyte Saga (later shown as a Masterpiece Theatre miniseries) — which earned him rave reviews and further exposed him to a US audience.[10] He returned to the US to star in Dreamcatcher, a Stephen King film about a man who becomes possessed by an evil alien. The character is American but when possessed he takes on a British accent, thus requiring Lewis to toggle between the two.[7] On the heels of this role, he starred in Keane as a Manhattanite with a fragile mental state who is searching for his missing daughter. Despite the film's poor box-office performance, the role won Lewis rave reviews.[11][12][13]

He played Jeffrey Archer in the satirical TV special Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. Since 2004, he has appeared in a number of films, as well as the 2005 BBC TV adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing, as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told season. Lewis played the role of Yassen Gregorovich in the film Stormbreaker.

In February 2006, he became a trade justice ambassador for Christian Aid, a UK charity. Later that year, he also appeared in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC drama Friends and Crocodiles. Also in 2006, he was a player for England in Soccer Aid in late May, and golfed for Europe in the All*Star Cup, in late August, both shown on ITV. On 10 November 2006 and 1 May 2009, he was guest host on BBC's Have I Got News For You.

In 2008, Lewis stars as the main character in the U.S. television series Life on NBC. He stars as a police officer framed for murder and held in prison for 12 years from 1995 to 2007 before being exonerated. The show premiered in the US on September 26, 2007. The following year he appeared in the lead role in a film entitled The Baker, directed by his brother, Gareth Lewis, and took the supporting role of Rizza in The Escapist, which he also helped produce.

Lewis is due to lead the cast Martin Crimp's version of Molière's comedy, The Misanthrope opening in December 2009 at the Comedy Theatre, London. Other cast includes Tara Fitzgerald, Keira Knightley and Dominic Rowan.

Personal life

Lewis's mother died in a car accident in India in 2001, an incident he called (in a 2006 interview) "the single most important thing that's happened to me in my life."[14] In late 2004, Lewis began dating actress Helen McCrory.[15] The two married on 4 July 2007 and have a daughter, Manon (born September 2006), and a son, Gulliver (born November 2007). They currently reside in Los Angeles. Lewis is a well-known Liverpool F.C. fan.

Filmography

Year Title Role Note(s)
1993 Micky Love Clive Television special
1995 The episode Hickory Dickory Dock in Agatha Christie : Poirot Leonard Bateson Television Series
1997 Robinson Crusoe Patrick  
1999 Warriors Lt. Neil Loughrey Television film
2000 Life Force Kurt Glemser Television series
Hearts and Bones Mark Rose Television series
2001 Band of Brothers Maj. Richard D. Winters Mini series
2002 The Forsyte Saga Soames Forsyte Mini series
Jeffrey Archer: The Truth Jeffrey Archer Television special
2003 Dreamcatcher Gary "Jonesy" Jones  
The Forsyte Saga: To Let   Soames Forsyte Mini series
2004 Keane William Keane  
Nyfes Norman Harris  
2005 Colditz Cpl/Lt. Nicholas McGrade Television film
Chromophobia Marcus Aylesbury  
An Unfinished Life Gary Winston  
Friends and Crocodiles Paul Television film
Much Ado About Nothing Benedick Television film
2006 The Situation Dan Murphy Post-production
Stormbreaker Yassen Gregorovich
2007 - 2009 Life Charlie Crews Television Series
2008 The Baker Milo Also produced
The Escapist Rizza

References

  1. ^ Going down a storm - icWales
  2. ^ No byline (2002)"An Interview with Damian Lewis. PBS.org. (accessed December 22, 2008)
  3. ^ a b (Person Page - 17574. thePeerage.com. (accessed 2009-01-14)
  4. ^ a b No byline (25 May 2003), Interview. Sunday Express. (accessed 2008-12-22)
  5. ^ James Mottram (25 February 2008), Damian Lewis Interview. Marie Claire. (accessed 2009-01-14)
  6. ^ (21 October 2007), FASCINATING FACT 4144. Contact Music. (accessed 2009-01-14)
  7. ^ a b c Iannotti, Lauren (April 2003), "ESQUIRE STYLE". Esquire. 139 (4):120
  8. ^ No byline (November 1999), Title unavailable. New Woman (accessed 2008-12-22
  9. ^ Alison Prato (October 2008), "Out on the Town with This Season’s Breakout Stars". Maxim. (accessed 2008-12-15)
  10. ^ Kelleher, Terry (2002-10-14), "The Forsyte Saga". People. 58 (16):36
  11. ^ Rozen, Leah (2005-09-19), "Keane". People. 64 (12):40
  12. ^ Kauffmann, Stanley (2005-09-19), "Heights and Depths". New Republic. 233 (12):28-29
  13. ^ Travers, Peter (2005-10-06). "Keane". Rolling Stone. (984):164
  14. ^ No byline (9 September 2006), "Red hot: The irresistible rise of Damian Lewis" The Independent (accessed 2008-12-22)
  15. ^ King, Kiki and Hewitt, Rick (15 May 2005), After a Band of Lovers Damian Lewis finds his ‘beautiful vision’. Mail on Sunday. (accessed on 2008-12-15)

External links


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