| | |  | Damian Lewis News & Gossip
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| | Damian Lewis pays tribute to Helen McCrory, his late wife of nearly 14 years | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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The actress Helen McCrory passed away on Friday after a years-long battle with cancer. Very few people knew about McCrory?s battle beyond her family and close friends, which makes it feel like her passing happened very suddenly and out of nowhere. Helen was devoted to the theater, long after her husband Damian Lewis went all-in on film and television work, primarily in America. They managed to raise two children in the UK and America, splitting their time between work and family. Helen was 52 years old, and she and Damian had been married for nearly 14 years. Their children, Manon and Gulliver, are 14 and 13 respectively. Damian wrote a lengthy, emotional tribute to his wife this weekend:
?As I sit down to write this, I can hear Helen shouting from the bed, ?Keep it short, Damian, it?s not about you?,? Lewis wrote in a new tribute shared by The Times. ?I?ll try, but on a weekend when the papers, rightly, will be paying their respects to the Duke of Edinburgh, thousands of others around the world have been remembering m?Duchess, my Little One, royalty in her own right. And I?d like to throw in my tuppence worth??
?She was fiercely proud of being an artist, an actress. Her OBE, recognition of her exquisite talent, made her so happy. Her craft was something she approached with a rigour, an honesty, an intelligence that made others rise to meet her, but she never imposed herself, because she loved collaboration, whether that was in film, TV or theatre. But as she said to me a few weeks ago, ?Doing theatre is what made my heart sing. Many people have spoken about her career and many more will, so that?s where I?ll leave it, because it strikes me that two things are happening this weekend: an outpouring of grief and shock, and a celebration of Helen McCrory the actress from fans everywhere, and of Helen the person. And that?s who I want to talk about.
?Helen was an even more brilliant person than she was an actress. She was a people person, sure. ?I?m much more interested in who I?m with than where I am,? she would say, and innately wanted to share. But she also lived by the principle of kindness and generosity. That you put these things out into the world to make it better, to make people feel better. I?ve never known anyone so consciously spread happiness. To say ?please? and ?thank you? and ?you?re so kind? as much as she did. Even when dying in her last few days, when talking to our wonderful carers, she repeatedly said, ?thank you so much? in her half delirious state.?
?One nurse at the Royal Marsden told me once they actually looked forward to Helen coming in because she made their day better. Asked how they were, cared about their home lives, spread joy, made them laugh. Helen would say, ?Well, their job?s much more difficult than mine.? And she was dying. She understood anger, used to tell the children not to be afraid of it. ?It?s a positive emotion when you use it right.? And she had her fair share of it, let me tell you. She could be magnificently angry, imperious, dismissive. Gloriously. But also happy. Always. Some people believe happiness is a right, some people find happiness difficult. It?s an elusive emotion. Helen believed you choose happiness.
?I?ve never known anyone able to enjoy life as much. Her ability to be in the present and enjoy the moment was inspirational. Nor was she interested in navel-gazing. No real interest in self- reflection; she believed in looking out, not in. Which is why she was able to turn her light so brightly on others.?
?She?s left our beautiful children, Manon and Gully, too early, but they have been prepared for life. They have in them the fearlessness, wit, curiosity, talent and beauty of their mother. She has exhorted us to be courageous and not afraid. As she said repeatedly to the children, ?Don?t be sad, because even though I?m about to snuff it, I?ve lived the life I wanted to.?
?She has been utterly heroic in her illness. Funny, of course ? generous, brave, uncomplaining, constantly reminding us all of how lucky we?ve been, how blessed we are. Her generosity has extended to encouraging us three to live. Live fully, take opportunities, have adventures. Only a couple of weeks ago she said to us from her bed, ?I want Daddy to have girlfriends, lots of them, you must all love again, love isn?t possessive, but you know, Damian, try at least to get through the funeral without snogging someone. Already I miss her. She has shone more brightly in the last months than you would imagine even the brightest star could shine. In life, too, we had to rise to meet her. But her greatest and most exquisite act of bravery and generosity has been to ?normalise? her death. She?s shown no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity, only armed us with the courage to go on and insisted that no one be sad, because she is happy. I?m staggered by her. She?s been a meteor in our life.?
[From NME]
This made me cry. I never really paid much attention to their marriage, but it sounds like he utterly adored her, as did everyone who came in contact with her. The grief and memories just came pouring out of him and he sounds so raw. And now he has to raise their two children without her. It?s heartbreaking.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| | Damian Lewis: 'As an actor educated at Eton, I?m still always in a minority' | | Added 7 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Damian Lewis is a television actor. Instead of trying to make the movie-star thing happen, Damian just leans into TV work and aims to be on the best TV shows he can find. His TV projects have included: Band of Brothers, Life (which was canceled way too soon), Homeland, Wolf Hall, To Appomattox and currently the Showtime series Billions. Damian is absolutely posh in the Benedict Cumberbatch/Tom Hiddleston/Eddie Redmayne school of poshness too – Damian came from a wealthy family and his natural British accent is very posh. Damian, like Hiddles and Redmayne, also went to Eton, the poshest of the posh-boy schools. Amongst British actors, there?s a lot of talk about whether it?s a good thing or a bad thing that their industry is being overrun with posh private-school actors. But according to Damian, he?s in the minority!
Damian Lewis has said that being an actor from Eton puts him in a ?minority?, saying it is “statistically not true” that privately educated actors are becoming dominant in acting. Asked in a Guardian live Q&A about whether a lack of funding for the arts was leading to less diversity among British actors, the Wolf Hall and Billions star said that it wasn’t true that privately educated actors were overrepresented.
?We have to protect against lack of diversity,” he said. If theatre, film, TV, dance, opera, ballet are going to remain true artforms, they must be reflective of all society. ?But that’s a different point from saying that only privately educated actors are becoming dominant in acting, because statistically that’s not true. A handful of actors from privileged backgrounds have done well, very well, and of course that’s high profile news. But whenever I work, wherever I work, as an actor educated at Eton, I’m still always in a minority,? he said.
He went on to say that actors have experiences of being in a minority whatever their background.
?What is true and always rewarding about the acting profession is that everyone has a similar story about them being in a minority. From whatever background. And that coming into the acting profession is when we all finally find likeminded people. But it goes without saying, I hope, that theatre and the arts generally in my view are a fundamental and important part of any child’s education, and to see any more cuts would be sad.”
[From Radio Times]
I AM OPPRESSED AS A MINORITY TOO, cries the posh white man. Only a expensively educated, posh, privileged white guy would actually believe that he?s ?always in a minority? as an Eton-educated actor. I know the point he was trying to make, which is that the ?problem of poshness? is not as widespread as people believe, and that Damian rarely works with actors who have a similarly posh background. But let?s be real – this is also dismissive of those real minority actors and dismissive of the big issue within the British acting community, which is: if only Eton-and-Cambridge-educated white actors get consistent work, how is that not a huge problem of representation, storytelling and inclusion?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| | Was Damian Lewis given 'unofficial nod' that he will be the new James Bond' | | Added 9 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Back in June, European bookmakers had Damian Lewis as the leading contender to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. So? we?ve already imagined it and dismissed it, because for the love of God, what?s it going to take to get Idris Elba in this role? All of this talk about who will replace Daniel Craig is sort of moot, because he really does have one film left (after Spectre) on his contract. Of course, Craig seems rather ambivalent about it and I tend to think he and the producers are waiting to see what kind of box office Spectre gets this fall. But in the meantime, one UK paper claims that Damian Lewis has been given ?an unofficial nod? that he will be the next Bond.
Damian Lewis is reportedly being lined up to play the new James Bond, should Daniel Craig leave the role. The Sunday Mirror reports that the 44-year-old Homeland star has been given ‘an unofficial nod’ that he would be the producer’s first choice to become the new 007 agent.
The reports follow Daniel Craig’s recent hints that Spectre is set to be his final Bond movie. A source told the paper: ‘If Daniel Craig leaves, it’s Damian Lewis who will be crowned the new Bond. He is seen as an all-round international star who is perfect for the role. As he ages, he looks increasingly suave and sophisticated. Bond bosses are now convinced Damian is their man.’
Earlier this year, Daniel implied that November’s Spectre release will be his last. When asked if he would like to do one more Bond movie, he replied: ‘At this moment, no. I’ve got a life and I’ve got to get on with it a bit. But we’ll see.’
There has been much speculation about who might take over the role, with Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba’s names being rumoured to be in the running. MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for Damian Lewis for further information.
[From The Daily Mail]
I don?t have anything against Damian in general. I think he?s a wonderful dramatic actor and he would probably prove himself to be quite capable with all of the stunt work required for Bond. Plus, he would be the first ginger Bond, which is a nice mantle, I suppose. Still? where art thou Idris Elba? Why is he not even in these conversations? Amy Pascal at Sony was very into the idea of Idris as Bond, we know that from the Sony Hack. But ultimately, the decision falls to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who jointly own the James Bond franchise and produce all of the films now. Why aren?t they considering Big Driis?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| | Damian Lewis in character as King Henry VIII: would you hit it? | | Added 10 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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This post is dedicated to my mom, who loves Damian Lewis. Today is her last day of teaching! She?s retiring and she?s super-happy about it. So I thought this would be a nice gift for her, a post about one of her favorite gingers.
Damian was photographed a few days ago in Wiltshire, England in full royal regalia. Like, old-school regalia. He?s playing Henry VIII in a new miniseries/TV show called Wolf Hall, using Hilary Mantel?s book of the same name as source material. Apparently, the show is all about the political struggles of Henry VIII, with Mark Rylance playing Oliver Cromwell and Jonathan Pryce (I LOVE Pryce) as Cardinal Wolsey. Claire Foy will play Anne Boleyn and Mark Gatiss (Mycroft!) is in there somewhere too. As is Jessica Raine, best known as Jenny Lee on Call the Midwife (Raine recently quit Call the Midwife!).
So, what are your thoughts on Damian as Henry VIII? The real king was a ginger, and it?s always nice when films and television at least get the historical figure?s hair color right (remember Eric Bana as Henry VIII? That was? weird). But in this point in history, when he was dealing with Anne Boleyn, wasn?t he already a pretty big/fat man? I thought so. Maybe Damian needs more padding.
Damian was free to take on this new TV project because (SPOILER from last year) Nicholas Brody died last season of Homeland. I?m genuinely worried about they?re going to do next season without Brody, but Damian seems relatively happy that he?s off the show. Although? he recently told the NYT that he ?misses Danesy! I miss her.? Aw? he misses Claire. That?s sweet. He?s also considering a return to Broadway in a revival of Tennessee Williams? The Night of the Iguana.
Last thing ? Damian took part in The Hollywood Reporter?s TV Actors? round-table discussion and his part of the interview was really good. Go here to read.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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| | Damian Lewis offers a public apology to Ian McKellen for 'fruity actor' shade | | Added 10 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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A few days ago, we discussed the seemingly out-of-nowhere British actor-beef between Damian Lewis and Sir Ian McKellen. Back in October, Damian gave an interview to The Guardian where he was discussing his early theater days and his dreams of doing TV and film work, and how worried he was that a film and TV career would never happen. He lamented the ?idea that I would be one of these slightly over-the-top, fruity actors who would have an illustrious career on stage, but wouldn?t start getting any kind of film work until I was 50 and then start playing wizards.?
Obviously, that was taken as a rather pointed slam against McKellen, who got around to saying something this week as he promoted The Desolation of Smaug. McKellen basically said that he was proud of his career in films and theater and that he?s glad film success didn?t come to him until later in his life. What I loved about McKellen?s reaction is that he didn?t whip out his IMDB or make some long list of his achievements ? he?s an acting legend and he knows that we know that. Anyway, Damian must have heard (or been told) about Ian?s reaction because Damian came out and issued a public apology, and apparently he?s apologized to Sir Ian in private as well:
The Homeland actor Damian Lewis has apologised to Sir Ian McKellen after saying he did not want to end up a “fruity actor” who is known for playing wizards.
Lewis, 42, admitted he was “hugely embarrassed” after McKellen, 74, who plays the wizard Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit films, responsed acerbically in the Radio Times.
Lewis issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying: “I am hugely embarrassed that comments of mine have been linked in a negative way to Sir Ian McKellen. I have always been, and continue to be, an enormous fan and admirer of Sir Ian’s. He’s one of the greats and one of the reasons I became an actor. My comment in the Guardian was a soundbite I’ve been giving since 1999 ? it was a generic analogy that was never intended to demean or describe anyone else’s career. I have contacted Sir Ian McKellen and have given him my sincerest apologies.”
McKellen, one of Britain’s best-loved stage and screen actors with a career spanning decades, admitted that his performance in this year’s critically panned ITV sitcom Vicious was “over the top” but added that “no one needs to feel sorry for me” after Lewis described one of the reasons why he wanted to break out of the theatre.
[From The Guardian]
See, I kind of think Damian?s apology (both public and private) is fine. I take him at his word that he wasn?t trying to pointedly denigrate Sir Ian. If you?ve read enough of Damian?s interviews, you get the hang of his rather blunt style of speaking, his acerbic wit and his lack of ass-kissing niceties. Damian?s gotten in trouble for this kind of thing before, and I think that?s just what this was – he was trying to be self-effacing and he came across as almost snide. Plus, this is a good lesson for other celebrities who speak out of turn ? issue a heartfelt apology (wrapped in a sincere compliment to the person you?ve offended) as you clarify your remarks which may or may not have been misinterpreted. Damian gets bonus points from me for not blaming The Guardian for ?misquoting? him.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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