Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!

Today is Rare Disease Day, a day to raise awareness about rare diseases and the impact they have on patients’ lives. The primary target of the campaign is the general public; however, it is very important to raise awareness among policy makers, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has an interest in rare diseases. And we would like to take this day to raise awareness as well as funds to find a cure for EB.

Well, most of you know Damian Lewis is a proud patron of Cure EB.

The kids that are born with Recessive Dystropic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) or EB for short lack the protein that holds their skin together. They have extremely fragile skin that they are sometimes called “butterfly children.” Lots of activities we take for granted as easy routines in our daily lives are a struggle for them. Can you imagine a day where your dressing up takes up to two hours and eating and drinking cause blisters in your mouth and throat? These kids have to deal with this kind of pain every single day. Besides, they are under extra risk to develop skin cancer later in life and their life expectancy is not very long. Continue reading “Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!”

How Keane gave us Brody and How Brody gave us Axe *UPDATED*

Lodge Kerrigan’s beautiful film ‘Keane‘ with Damian Lewis received a 4K restoration thanks to Grasshopper Films and had special screenings at several movie theaters in the U.S in summer – fall 2022. I was very lucky to be at the Film at Lincoln Center’s screening in August 2022 followed by a a Q&A with Lodge Kerrigan and Damian himself. The 4K restored ‘Keane’ is available for streaming on AppleTV. So… why don’t we talk today about how this critically acclaimed movie caused a chain reaction in Damian’s career? 

Join me!

Continue reading “How Keane gave us Brody and How Brody gave us Axe *UPDATED*”

From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II

“I wanted the album to give a sense of a journey to this point, from busking ‘til now. I suddenly had a lot to say. People will judge if it’s any good or not, but for me, it felt entirely natural.” – Damian Lewis

photo credit: Rhys Frampton

You can read Part I here. We had a cliffhanger at the end of Part I… Steve Abbott introduced Damian to Giacomo Smith, one of the best  jazz musicians working  in London today…

Then Jay Rayner of  Out to Lunch podcast let the world know about Damian performing Dr. John’s “Such a Night” with Giacomo and his band Kansas Smittys – and asked Damian if the experience was as fun as it looked… Continue reading “From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II”

An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying”

“Severn-I–lift me up–I am dying–I shall die easy–don’t be frightened–be firm, and thank God it has come!”

John Keats

If there had been no Covid pandemic, they would have marked the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ death with a new production of the play Lift Me Up I am Dying in the house that Keats died – now the Keats-Shelley House  in Rome. But when it was clear that a live performance would not be possible, the creator Pele Cox came up with an alternative: she would have Zoom meetings with the actors who happened to be in lockdown and then let them  film themselves and bring to life a half-hour film based on the last weeks of Keats’ life. And they did.

Today marks the 203rd anniversary of John Keats’ death and we re-visit the intimate virtual performance Damian gives in Lift Me Up I am Dying.

Continue reading “An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying””

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis on The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Note: This post was originally published on March 26, 2019.

Photo Credits: Brian Koppelman

When he’s not running a show, co-creator of Billions, Brian Koppelman hosts a podcast called The Moment. Each hour-long session is a conversation about the creative process and pivotal moments in creative careers. Koppelman talks to people in various forms and stages of their creative lives about inflection points, the moments they sensed something shifted for them in their careers. Having listened to several of these conversations in his archive, its always a treat to hear how people get to live their professional dreams, be they restaurateurs, musicians, writers or actors. Back when he first publicized the podcast, I had this twee Twitter exchange with him. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis on The Moment with Brian Koppelman”