musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
A casting call tweet from @CastingAbout the other day is a clear call to action. We’d better start buzzing about NEW Showtime Wall Street Drama Billions!
So, Billions is currently casting for Season 1. If you happen to be in New York, and want to contribute a small part… well, why not? Continue reading “It’s TIME… Let’s Make Some Buzz for Billions!”
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces entered German-occupied France from the sea and the air with a mission to secure a 50 mile stretch of the Normandy coast. They succeeded in connecting all five beachheads in 6 days, precipitating the liberation of France from a five year occupation, and eventually driving the Nazis out of mainland Europe. That beginning of the end of WWII was D-Day. The nerve-wracking horror as well as the incredible courage of the men parachuting down to enemy occupied land was captured in all its brilliant unbelievable glory in Band of Brothers. And leading those men was Dick Winters, played by Damian Lewis.
Continue reading “Anniversary of D-Day = Revisiting Band of Brothers”
“We all live like the cavemen.” – Walter "Teach" Cole
Advance Warning: A sign at the entrance of Wyndham’s theatre warns the audience about explicit language in American Buffalo. I would love to imitate that and warn you all, for the sake of giving a detailed review of the play, I choose to use some of that explicit language in my blog post. So, please read at your own risk – thank you!
In case you missed the first part of my review, and want to take a look, here it is.
American Buffalo, as it brings to life a day in the lives of three no-hopers that are dying to have a shot at their slice of the American Dream, addresses the themes of friendship, loyalty and business. The play, in particular, examines how the new corporate culture penetrates into daily lives and brings about unbearable cost to people through meddling with the core “values” they have held for the longest time. One can lie, break business deals, and simply do whatever it takes to get his own way in the new world, and there is no place for trust. Teach, coming from outside, symbolizes these “new values” in a way. He “teaches” Don how the new world works: “All I mean, a guy can be too loyal, Don. Don’t be dense on this. What are we saying here? Business.” Continue reading “A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act II”
“All that I’m saying, don’t confuse business with pleasure.” – Walter “Teach” Cole
Advance Warning: A sign at the entrance of Wyndham’s theatre warns the audience about explicit language in American Buffalo. I would love to imitate that and warn you all, for the sake of giving a detailed review of the play, I choose to use some of that explicit language in my blog post. So, please read at your own risk – thank you!
What would you do if you had a conference in Paris, and your most favorite actor is doing a play in London, and you have never seen him on stage before that you are dying to do so, and of course, London is only a two and a half hour train ride from Paris? Yeah, you would do what I did and book tickets for… American Buffalo!
Hurrah!
So… I was extremely lucky to see American Buffalo last week, a pure acting feast provided by the ridiculously talented trio of Damian Lewis, John Goodman and Tom Sturridge.
I know that only a limited number of fans have the opportunity to see the play, so I will try my best here to give you all a detailed account of the play highlighting the fantastic performance of Damian Lewis as Walter “Teach” Cole. Continue reading “A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act I”
Taking a somewhat different approach to this Desert Island Disc challenge presented by my blog-mates. Conventionally, Desert Island Discs are those must-have pieces of music that would sustain you on a desert island. It’s music that you could listen to over and over again while you wait to be rescued. And it’s music that would give you hope that you would be rescued. But that music, for me, isn’t music that would necessarily be connected to Damian Lewis in my mind. So, rather than Desert Island Discs, my list is going to be a mixtape of music that reminds me of Damian Lewis specifically. It’s music that makes me think about characters he’s played and of him as a person too. As it turns out, it’s also music that I could listen to all the time. Some is sad, some is happy. Some is peaceful, some is angry. All the ways I like my art. This list is not just my personal list, but includes a lot of the best music ever made as determined by a lot of lists. One’s mind resists going anywhere less than the best when thinking of Damian Lewis.
So, let’s get to it: Continue reading “JaniaJania’s Desert Island Discs”
