Happy Birthday, Homeland (Or How Brody Turned My Life Upside Down)

At a recent dinner party, we played a game where everyone had to talk about three things they thought changed their lives. I had two moments from my early life: one being the Live Aid concert back in July 1985 (I was 13!) that got me thrilled that the whole world, all of us, were watching it together, and the other was a political assassination of a journalist in Turkey in January 1992 (I was 20!) that taught me that a state can get rid of citizens that insist on looking for the truth. And the third moment I mentioned was Homeland. Because I was a regular academic attending to my own thing until a certain “pesky Brit” disguised as an American POW showed up and turned everything upside down! Homeland made me a Damian Lewis fan for life and I launched a blog in his name almost a decade ago. Go, figure!

Homeland, the show that started it all, premiered on Showtime on October 2, 2011, exactly thirteen years ago today. Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Homeland (Or How Brody Turned My Life Upside Down)”

Throwback Thursday to Fan Fun Fan Stories Book Landing in Damian Lewis’ Hands

I can’t believe it has been four years since our Fan Fun fan stories turned into a book and landed in Damian Lewis’ hands! Join me in this fun walk through the memory lane!

It all started with a random conversation on the subway.

I am a part-time New Yorker. Lady Trader, on the other hand, is a true New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, now living on Long Island. The two of us try to meet almost every time I am in the city over some yummy dessert and tea at Veniero’s and chat for a few hours. Then we take the subway together: Lady Trader gets off at Penn Station to take the LIRR home and I continue uptown.

On one of my spring visits in 2016, on a subway ride home, I asked Lady Trader how she “discovered” Damian. When she told me her story, and it was hilarious, I told her she should really write a blog post about it. And as soon as she drafted her story, a NEW idea was born! Wouldn’t it be FUN if we invited all fans to write their own stories about how they became Damian Lewis fans? Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Fan Fun Fan Stories Book Landing in Damian Lewis’ Hands”

Damian Lewis on Fame and Fans *UPDATED*

I didn’t know people could get that famous. Just briefly, I felt like Justin Bieber for a second. – Damian Lewis

source: Times Talks
source: Times Talks

Damian answers Cara Buckley’s question at Times Talks about whether he misses Homeland which was “obviously a huge pivot” in his career:

“I have to say I felt pretty famous after Band of Brothers. I was like ‘well, I am doing alright, this is good, people stop me on the street, pat me on the back, say ‘I love your work Damian’ or they go ‘thank you for winning the second world war, sir!’… you know… as I peel off my tights doing Shakespeare somewhere on stage: ‘thank you, this is awkward…’ so reminding people that I am just an actor… But Homeland… You’re right… I didn’t know people could get that famous. Just briefly, I felt like Justin Bieber for a second… It was a phenomenon, you’re right, it was a phenomenon.”

This little dialogue inspires me to think of the relationship between the actor and his fans! We, as fans, are constantly talking about Damian. We post about him, tweet about him, and some of us even blog about him 🙂 We are pretty much set on what we think about Damian… but what does Damian think about fame and his fans?

Continue reading “Damian Lewis on Fame and Fans *UPDATED*”

Fan Stories Turn into a Book and Land in Damian Lewis’ Hands

It all started with a random conversation on the subway.

I am a part-time New Yorker. Lady Trader, on the other hand, is a true New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, now living on Long Island. The two of us try to meet almost every time I am in the city over some yummy dessert and tea at Veniero’s and chat for a few hours. Then we take the subway together: Lady Trader gets off at Penn Station to take the LIRR home and I continue uptown.

On one of my spring visits in 2016, on a subway ride home, I asked Lady Trader how she “discovered” Damian. When she told me her story, and it was hilarious, I told her she should really write a blog post about it. And as soon as she drafted her story, a NEW idea was born! Wouldn’t it be FUN if we invited all fans to write their own stories about how they became Damian Lewis fans? Continue reading “Fan Stories Turn into a Book and Land in Damian Lewis’ Hands”

Finding Damian Lewis in The Love Book: Celian’s Story

Hello all! Damianista welcomes you to a NEW Fan Story Tuesday!

We have found out, thanks to the fantastic stories you have shared with us, that while many “discovered” Damian through his iconic roles like Major Dick Winters in Band of Brothers or Nicholas Brody in Homeland, the others found him through  a news quiz show,  an interview, or his better half. This week’s story comes from Celian who definitely falls in the latter category.

copyright: Celian

Celian was first intrigued by Damian thanks to Allie Esiri’s wonderful The Love Book project, a brilliant collection of classic and contemporary love poems that vary from Shakespeare to E.E. Cummings to Maya Angelou coming together in a book as well as in an app. And she could not have sent her story at a better time since this is a perfect story for Valentine’s Day. Massive thanks go to Celian for sharing her fabulous story with us. Cheers!

Continue reading “Finding Damian Lewis in The Love Book: Celian’s Story”