As I was thinking about Damian during England vs Denmark semi-final match in Euro 2020 last week, these pictures made my day. Damian was there at Wembley, with Gully and pals, to watch the game!
And in celebration of England becoming a finalist in a major football tournament for the first time in 55 years, our Throwback Thursday today takes us to Will, a football movie Damian made in 2011, that is about Liverpool playing in the 2005 Champions League Final Match in Istanbul, Turkey, yes, my native country! As the great Charlie Crews would say “everything is connected” 😀
Have you seen Will yet?
Will is about the lengths people are willing to go for the love of the game. It is a sweet coming-of-age children’s tale featuring cameos from Liverpool legends Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and JamieCarragher.
11-year old Will Brennan (Perry Eggleton) is Liverpool’s number one fan who knows the club trivia by heart! Will stays at a boarding school in Kent because his dad Gareth (Damian Lewis) is emotionally not able to take care of him following his mother’s death. And Gareth (Damian Lewis) showing up, unexpectedly, with tickets to 2005 Champions League Final between Liverpool and AC Milan in Istanbul makes Will the happiest kid in the world! Well, only briefly… When the tragedy strikes, Will tackles it by setting out on his own to honor his father’s memory and make his own dream come true! On the road, Will meets Alek, a former footballer who had his own reasons to quit the sport. Inspired by Will’s story, Alek decides to help him and the two make the journey together.
Here is the movie trailer:
The Champions League Final in the movie is the NOW HISTORIC 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool and AC Milan at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul — one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football! And, on May 25 2005, Damian was watching THAT MATCH, too, in a London pub, with friends. And by the end of the first half, Liverpool was down by three goals. So was Damian.
Damian tells in an interview with the Independent:
“I was watching the game in a pub in Soho and I left at half-time, just going ‘Oh bloody hell, this is a disaster’. I had a drink with a friend in a pub around the corner, and my friend said to me, ‘Are you daft? Get back into the pub and watch the second half.’ So ten minutes into the second half I returned in time to watch them stick three goals in 15 minutes.”
Damian Lewis was thrilled to be making Will with his Anfield heroes but also was a bit disappointed that he was not in any scenes with Dalglish, Gerrard and Carragher.
In an interview with the Daily Record, 2011, he says:
“I am a big fan of Liverpool and I enjoyed the idea of being in a film that features the club so strongly. I also responded to the father/son story, which is a tearjerker…
I thought I was going to act with Steve Gerrard, who is one of my all-time heroes and Jamie Carragher, but I was in completely different parts of the movie and we did not come across each other.”
But, hey, even though he did not have the opportunity to film with him, Damian had his moment with his hero later and tweeted about it!
A moment with God. (The one in the middle). pic.twitter.com/bCWFDl4Ar0
— Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 14, 2014
NOW…. In honor and memory of all Liverpool managers, players and fans, and in celebration of the EPL championship, let us finish in style with the Liverpool anthem — You’ll Never Walk Alone!
Will is available on Amazon as a DVD and also for streaming.
