musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Damian Lewis answers the Vanity Fair Proust Questionnaire.
Vanity Fair: “Which living person do you most admire?”
Damian Lewis: “Sohana Collins. A little girl I know who’s extremely brave.
Have you met Sohana yet? Continue reading “Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!”
You should know by now from my ‘Chuck Seniorisms by the Dozen’ Part I and watching the show Billions that Charles Rhoades Sr., often referred to simply as Senior, is played by the extraordinary actor Jeffrey DeMunn. Senior oozes a noble, high-born conviction with not so subtle hints of a slime ball undercurrent magnified by his Bob Barker mischievous smirk.
Senior is an Upper East Side grand master and epitome of the WASP elite who went to Yale and was a Whiffenpoof. He’s a member of the Yale Club of New York, stores his cigars at Nat Sherman Tobacco Lounge, although in season three he tells Wendy he’s cleaning out a walk-in closet of his prodigal son’s trivial prep school trophies to make room for a humidor, and hangs around with the likes of pals named Tate Tappan and Stuckey Brown, and rubs elbows with Kingmakers named Black Jack Foley.
I personally promised several of you to write about my conversation with Damian when I caught up with him on Billions set back in December as soon as I come back from vacation. I have been buried under teaching and committee work and meetings since I came back that I have just been able to find some time to sit and write. And while it may be a while ago and that I do sometimes not remember what I had for dinner last night, I vividly remember my conversation with Damian 😀
This blog has had an interesting relationship with Billions. I launched the blog only two weeks before they started shooting the pilot in New York and I have been very lucky to catch up with Damian on the set once every season since. I do not know how many times you need to do a thing for it to become a tradition, but catching up with Damian on Billions set once a year certainly feels like a tradition now.
And when I saw Billions signs on Park Avenue on a Saturday evening in December, I thought I could continue the tradition. The signs hint that they might shoot at an ultra fancy restaurant where I could easily imagine Axe eat with other billionaires, and was happy that I could continue the tradition. Continue reading “Catching Up With Damian Lewis on Billions Season 4 Set”
Not enemies. Not friends. Not fucking around. #Billions season 4 premieres March 17. Only on #Showtime. pic.twitter.com/3Au0N42iV9
— Billions on Showtime (@SHO_Billions) February 15, 2019
On Friday, February 15, 2019 fans were treated to a belated Valentine’s Day gift when Showtime tweeted the newly released promotional material for Billions season four. And like last year when I analyzed the poster art for season three here, I will analyze (and over analyze) season four all the same. Are there spoilers, clues and hints hidden in the poster art, logo and official trailer song? I immediately began scrutinizing the photos and lyrics for suggestions and significance. When dissecting the details of the promo material and music, you’ll never guess what I found. So come with me on a deep dive and see if we can come up with an indication of what’s to come.
We first meet “Dollar” Bill Stearn in Billions Pilot where he tells Bobby Axelrod he is not uncertain that Axe Capital has to short Superior Auto. His boss agrees with his assessment while he calls him the cheapest man in America! And as we find out over time that Bill is a very colorful character from his two families to his love/hate relationship with Spyros, as well as a very loyal Axe Capital employee from his fake fight with Axe to him dropping his pants in front of Axe to prove his loyalty – Bill’s signature personality trait stands out as, well, cheapness! And the thing is the man has no problem with that. On the contrary, from his lucky dollar bill that he won in a poker game from Carl Icahn to the giant dollar sign in his garage, Dollar Bill OWNS his cheapness! Continue reading “Here Comes The Cheapest Man in America: “Dollar” Bill Stearn in Billions”