Damian Lewis, An Englishman in New York: 2016 Edition

You know the worst thing about being a hardcore fan is the dry spells, these times when the object of your fandom is hard at work, filming, and no where to be seen. You’ve already watched most of his entire oeuvre, some of it many times over. And there is nothing to fill the void. Particularly egregious for such a time to come as we are also mired in the sludge of arguably the worst election of recent history, when the worst possible words and images are assaulting us from all our screens on a daily basis. Wherefore humanity? Wherefore truth and beauty? Wherefore art? And alas, wherefore Damian?

But, you know the best thing about such times is that we have you, dear fans, posting your sightings and run-ins. And we have dear Damian himself graciously posing for pics with you, his dear fans. So we bring you what has become an annual post: Our Englishman in New York.

Indeed, what better fit for an Englishman this side of the pond than New York, a city primed to be the home away from home for men of Damian’s ilk. A piece of merry old England in the Colonies. How comforting it must be to see familiar place names, only some with a helpful “New” appended. York, Chelsea, Greenwich, the Hamptons, even Tudor City, must all resonate somewhat. I dare say, if Damian were to ever consider relocating home and hearth, there’d be no better fit for him than New York.

As we all know, our Englishman is not unfamiliar with New York, having visited often. When provided the prospect of working in New York, Damian had this to say in an interview for Luxury London: http://www.luxurylondon.co.uk/article/damian-lewis-talks-billions-new-york-donald-trump

I had doubted it was still a great city having been there a lot in the mid-’90s and knowing that it had been somewhat, tamed, shall we say, by Giuliani and Bloomberg, but it is still a great city; it’s still one of the greatest cities.

Damian speaks of the time when Manhattan went through a massive overhaul, a sanitization that changed the profile of Midtown in particular. Since Midtown encompasses a large part of the Theater District, Damian must have been witness to most of those changes. Thankfully, the spirit of the city could never be whitewashed, and, from the sound of it, Damian must know how enchanted a place it remains.

Now to get to the sightings and run-ins.

Back in early September, Damian was caught riding a bike around town, then attending the US Open later that day.

Here’s a lovely story from a couple weeks ago by the owner of Plaza Cafe in Southampton. The story tells us Damian not only makes his own dinner reservations but is willing to go to lengths to make sure his peeps, ie the cast and crew of Billions, are well taken care of.

And here’s our guy at brunch, French cuffs unbuttoned, his belt knotted and folded like we all used to knot and fold our belts in the early 90’s. Bringing it all back! source: @marinkkka4

If wardrobe is any indication, the brunch date may have come on the heels of an event in support of domestic workers.

Thanks for believing in and signing the #faircarepledge, @lewis_damian! pic.twitter.com/b09HPMWCkk

— Fair Care Pledge (@FairCarePledge) September 26, 2016

Here he is at JFK, possibly before or after a trip back home.

Stopping for lunch means stopping for pics with fans.

Here he is on set, perhaps with one of the PA’s for Billions, under lights requiring anti glare makeup. What a smile!

Backdrop and clothes are different but the timeline seems to coincide with a pic taken with the brilliant filmmaker John Singleton who is slated as directing an episode of Billions. Truth be told, I’m a bit in love with this picture, and cannot wait to see what Singleton brings to Billions.

https://twitter.com/isaachayes/status/778947894468448258

Now, look who takes a minute on a busy New York street to stop for a pic with a fan.

And even on a cross-town bus with a fan:

Snapped in quasi-professional mode for an interview with Marlene Von Arx:

Here he is sampling some local libations in Westchester.

In Queens with a security guy.

Awesome meeting actor @lewis_damian on the set of Billions #actor #homeland #billions #bandofbrothers #nyc #security pic.twitter.com/i5wi8yxucr

— FrankSly (@sly_frank) September 7, 2016

Either before, after or while Damian has come across the street for a drink.

@lewis_damian come across the street for a drink pic.twitter.com/DYSFfoZDwB

— Tom from college (@grindsmygooch) August 20, 2016

Golf? Hamptons? A Brit kid raised in the States.

2 Brits – 1 on Billions @lewis_damian pic.twitter.com/XeWSEiNqJN

— Michael Grant (@MichaelGrant_) July 31, 2016

Giving an encouraging message to indy filmakers.

Another streetside capture.

And more brunch in Chelsea, this time with Petra held close.

Here’s to Damian continuing to enjoy his sojourn working and living in New York, a city that undoubtedly has much love for our Englishman.