Month: November 2017

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in The Situation

“There is no truth, you know. It’s not about locking up all the bad guys. It doesn’t work like that.” – Dan Murphy

The Situation is the first U.S. feature film that deals with the complexities of the American occupation in Iraq. Written by Wendell Steavenson, a real-life journalist, based on her on-the-ground experiences in war-torn Iraq, and directed by the veteran independent film director Philip Haas (Angels and Insects, anyone?), the movie stars Connie Nielsen, Mido Hamada and John Slattery along with Damian Lewis. The story is exclusively set in Iraq but the movie was shot, for obvious reasons, in Morocco.

So, yes, Homeland is not the first project concerning the war in Iraq that Damian was involved with. There was, in fact, well-meaning CIA intelligent officer Dan Murphy before the US Marine Nicholas Brody. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in The Situation”

Damian Lewis as Soames Forsyte

Strange to talk about a series that happened over 10 years ago, but discussing Damian Lewis’ oeuvre without touching on Soames Forsyte and the Forsyte Saga would just be incomplete. Gentle Means, the lovely fanfic we recently published from our talented guest blogger, Mel, got this character back front and center in my mind.

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source: Granada Television/WGBH

Imagine if you will, a 30 year old actor just returned from completing his first “Hollywood” venture, the most expensive series ever produced and shown on HBO, Band of Brothers. It was a hit! Everyone wants him! Everyone wants him to come back over the pond and play….another soldier. Word has it,  that Damian was offered a role in Blackhawk Down and turned it down to stay in England and play Soames Forsyte. One may speculate he told the casting folks that he can’t do it but his good friend and fellow Eton-ite Ewan MacGregor might be free. 🙂 Of course, Blackhawk Down was a great film, but, boy, we’re glad Damian said no. Continue reading “Damian Lewis as Soames Forsyte”

Let’s Give to Sohana Research Fund This Holiday Season!

Today is Giving Tuesday! It is a a global day of giving we celebrate on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and kick off the charitable season! So it’s time to be thankful for all the good stuff in our lives and focus on our holiday giving.

Well, most of you know Damian Lewis is a proud patron of Sohana Research Fund.

Damian Lewis with Sohana and her mother Sharmila at BGC Charity Day 2014, source: Sohana Research Fund

Sohana Collins is a young teenager who was born with RDEB which means she lacks the protein that holds her skin together. Kids with RDEB 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. That is why Sohana’s parents Sharmila and James Collins founded Sohana Research Fund to raise awareness as well as funds for research to ultimately have a cure for this terrible skin condition.

Continue reading “Let’s Give to Sohana Research Fund This Holiday Season!”

The Fan Fun with Damian Lewis Holiday Gift Giving Guide 2017 Edition!

Holiday greetings to you all!  I am thrilled to return, once again, for an updated version of our annual gift giving guide. If you have a Damian Lewis fan in your life, this post is for YOU!

Yep, that’s me! Photo by Vortex Photography

I am a burlesque performer, who specializes in holiday-themed acts.  Being known as the “Queen of Christmas”, I love merging my two worlds and bringing my love of the holiday season AND my love of all things Damian into one fun post.  It’s also a nice creative break for me, since I have been costuming and act developing for this season since August.  I’m putting down the tinsel and picking up the keyboard! Here are some of our tried and true favorites, and some new picks-enjoy! Continue reading “The Fan Fun with Damian Lewis Holiday Gift Giving Guide 2017 Edition!”

A Lesson in Rhetoric: Damian Lewis as Antony

To be filed in the category of “This is a guy who makes you want to go back to school”, we just learned and reported (on our lovely sister site damian-lewis.com) that Damian’s version of Antony’s funeral speech from Julius Caesar, for The Guardian’s video series Shakespeare Solos, was featured in a seminar on rhetoric. This wasn’t an avenue for literary criticism or drama theory, but a newsletter on effective public speaking.

How is speaking any different from writing and reading, you may wonder? Well, there are components to classical rhetoric, when dissected, can show you what makes one speech different from another. Such an analysis would reach your brain (or at least attempt to). Alternatively, we can talk about how a speech makes you feel. Granted we’re not seeing much great oratory from our current elder statesmen, so examples are few and far between. But, there was a time, wasn’t there? In our not too distant history, when a leader spoke, it did a heart good to hear, didn’t it?

Continue reading “A Lesson in Rhetoric: Damian Lewis as Antony”