Damian Lewis reads le Carré at Time Out London’s Spy Weekend

One of my best friends from high school, who lives in Istanbul, and I, who live in the US, make a decision to meet somewhere in between and choose London as sort of a mid-point. We buy our tickets in February for our very anticipated London trip in May. And now that I am back from the trip, I just can’t help congratulate myself for randomly choosing the BEST week in May to be in London!

First: The weather. Four consecutive days of sunny, summer-y weather!

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

Second: The Tube. My friend and I take the Tube everywhere. And, at some point, we just cannot stop giggling since one certain ginger greets you everywhere, and I am not exaggerating a bit, everywhere you go! The Tube door opens and here is Damian looking at you either from an Our Kind of Traitor poster or a Billions poster. You sort of feel he is following you everywhere you go. FUN!

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

And it is not just limited to the Tube. The pic on the upper right hand side is from Camden Town. Bobby Axelrod lets you know Billions is coming to Sky Atlantic May 12 at 9pm.

Third: Damian Lewis is reading le Carré. Time Out London teams up with Studio Canal to bring Londoners a “spy weekend” at Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre. The weekend includes screenings of some of the popular films based on John le Carré books, namely The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), the first le Carré adaptation to the big screen, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) as well as of some other classic spy movies like Notorious (1946) and The Third Man (1949) and an exclusive special screening of Our Kind of Traitor followed by a spy-themed party as well as a discussion panel on “Bringing le Carré  to the screen” with The Night Manager producer Stephen Cornwell (who is also John le Carré’s son), the producer Gail Egan (The Constant Gardener, Our Kind of Traitor) and Our Kind of Traitor director Susanna White plus readings from John le Carré’s work by celebrated fans including one certain ginger! Continue reading “Damian Lewis reads le Carré at Time Out London’s Spy Weekend”

Our Kind of Traitor: On UK Screens May 13

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There’s been a long wait for the whirlwind of projects Damian did while on haitus from Homeland and right after wrapping up his stint. We just learned that one of those long-awaited projects, John Le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor, will be in cinemas May 13 in the UK. The preview was released last week, and, boy, it sure does look to be a fun ride of a spy drama. Great talent on board with Ewan MacGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Naomie Harris, and, of course, Damian Lewis in the role of British intelligence fixer Hector Meredith.

I’ve been listening to the audiobook since this news came out and been bemused to hear the role of Hector, written as a weathered investigator well into his 50’s, read in a gruff no-nonsense baritone. Happy to report, as gruff as he may sound, they didn’t age Damian to fit the role, and, though he’s sporting vintage horn-rimmed glasses and may be pulling a specific MI6 inflection of a British accent, he is otherwise undisguised. Have a look at the preview here. And read on as we revisit some observations about the story, the characters, and some behind the scenes goodness.

Continue reading “Our Kind of Traitor: On UK Screens May 13”