Damian Lewis

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Damian Lewis

Born Damian Watcyn Lewis
11 February 1971 (1971-02-11) (age 37)
St. John's Wood, London, England
Occupation Actor, film producer
Years active 1993-present
Spouse(s) Helen McCrory (2007-present)

Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is a Golden Globe-nominated English actor and producer. Probably best known portraying Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers [1] and Soames Forsyte in the ITV miniseries The Forsyte Saga. He currently stars as Det. Charlie Crews in the NBC drama Life.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Lewis made several visits to the United States to visit relatives during his summers as a child.[2] He was educated at Ashdown House and 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.

[edit] Career

Lewis also appeared in Sam Mendes' 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.[2]

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.[3] He returned stateside 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.[2] 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.[4][5][6]

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.

In 2006 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, he was guest host on BBC's Have I Got News For You.

In 2007, 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.

He appears in the lead role in a film entitled The Baker, directed by his brother, Gareth Lewis.

[edit] Personal life

He married actress Helen McCrory on 4 July 2007 and has a daughter, Manon (born September 2006), and a son, Gulliver (born November 2007). They currently reside in Tufnell Park. A well-known Liverpool fan, he was spotted performing the "Torres Bounce" in The Albert Pub, shortly before the Liverpool vs Chelsea Champions League Semi-Final First Leg of 22/04/2008.

[edit] Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1993 Micky Love Clive Television special
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 Watson  
Friends and Crocodiles Paul Television film
Much Ado About Nothing Benedick Television film
2006 The Situation Dan Murphy Post-production
Stormbreaker Yassen Gregorovich
2007 The Baker Milo Also produced
Life Charlie Crews Television series
2008 The Escapist Rizza

[edit] References

  1. ^ Going down a storm - icWales
  2. ^ a b c Iannotti, Lauren (April 2003), "ESQUIRE STYLE". Esquire. 139 (4):120
  3. ^ Kelleher, Terry (2002-10-14), "The Forsyte Saga". People. 58 (16):36
  4. ^ Rozen, Leah (2005-09-19), "Keane". People. 64 (12):40
  5. ^ Kauffmann, Stanley (2005-09-19), "Heights and Depths". New Republic. 233 (12):28-29
  6. ^ Travers, Peter (2005-10-06). "Keane". Rolling Stone. (984):164

[edit] External links

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