Friday 27 February 2015

Wolf Hall and a nice weekend:-)


please read on our main site damian-lewis.com a fantastic Guardian article today about the
series and its marvellous cast!!

 don't forget the DVD release for Wolf Hall on 2,March 2015

and we start our Tips for Trips on Monday in relation to American Buffalo
we look forward to it and hope you will enjoy reading it

HAPPY WEEKEND:-)

source:damian-lewis.com


The girls coming to Cologne….


And I was nervous weeks ahead. It’s always so special when you found someone in life
who just takes you the way you are.

And with Emma it feels like that and we don’t meet only for Lewis stuff and events
But also just to see each other and to spend some quality time together.
This time we doubled the fun because she brought the girls with her and it was so great!!
I was so keen to see them and we had a full packed program.

We had such a wonderful day with shopping a great lunch where the Brit girls and I
got some typical cologne based food called “Sauerbraten” and in a restaurant which is quite famous in Cologne as the former president of America Bill Clinton was there during on of his visits in Germany and since I always loved  Clinton it was great to take the girls there.
We entered the mall and of course even we didn’t want to buy anything we got a bag shoes and
some gorgeous stuff for the kids and their friends afterwards we took time to visit the famous cathedral where we all lit a candle for several and quite different reasonsJ
we took the little train again which is a lovely way to get around cologne and see some highlights
and we stopped by the chocolate factory to destroy any diet plans for the weekend lol
with another café visit and some funny and music framed moments a fantastic day ended
and I can only thank my girls for such a quality time!!

It was so wonderful to have with me and thanks a million for your time and all the
beautiful presents and its so good to know that in just 12 weeks we see each other again
this time for American Buffalo in London…..can’t wait girls!!!!!!!
THANK YOU!!








So on Friday evening myself and my two daughters, Grace and Dani, boarded the 7pm flight to Cologne for a 24 hour stay in the city and more importantly to catch up with my blog sister Sabrina. 
 We arrived at 9pm after a very bumpy flight and headed off to our hotel.  On Saturday morning my lovely friend walked into our hotel and we began our fun filled day.  They say kids are the best way to tell if someone is a true person, kids give an instant like or dislike to someone, so the fact that Grace would not stop talking all day and that Dani was so happy to have bought Sabrina the same Hello Kitty teddy that she chose for Sabrina tells me that they have a friend for life

  We began our day by doing something we all love “Shopping” Cologne shopping is fabulous and as a shopaholic myself there is something for every taste, as well as the recognised high street shops there are some great shops that we don’t know about over here in the UK.  In particular there was a store that had the best selection of shoes and boots that I have ever seen, I was actually the only one who did not buy a pair and it was at that moment I regretted taking such a small bag away with me!
  Once we were a bit all shopped out we headed to wonderful café to have a coffee break – Dani, the youngest in our group, had a fantastic Cathedral shaped waffle, while Grace and Sabrina shared a plate of Macaroons – I however stuck to my tea as I was saving myself for lunch.




 Which I am so glad I did – WOW is all I can say to our lunch destination – we went to a fantastic traditional German restaurant called ??????? The restaurant was not too far from the River and was wonderfully German, the staff were delightful and we later found out that Bill and Hillary Clinton sat in our exact seats a few years back….. If its good enough for the Clintons!! 

 I would highly recommend this great place to eat.  Once we were full we walked to the Cathedral – it is an amazing building standing over 500 foot tall it was built in 1248 inside there are several areas where you can light a candle and donates some money to the parish.  We all lit candles and I lit mine for friendship new and old.  After our visit we then walked to the main square where we got on a little train that also gives a tour of the city to the Chocolate factory, this was Danis best part of the trip, at the factory you can watch Lindt chocolate being made, I think we spent about 30mins in the factory and about 45mins in the gift shop.

in the factory


  Time was pressing on by now and we only had a few hours left of our day, we got the train back to the square and we had tea in “our” favourite tea shop, it is one of the most traditional tea shops I have ever been to, the ambience and the feel of this place is like going back in time, with its pink and cream colour interior and its magnificent cakes and baked goods, there is even a live band playing the piano and violin while you drink tea and eat cakes.  We strolled back to our hotel to collect our bags and we walked to the train station to catch our train back to Cologne/Bonn Airport.  It was so sad to say goodbye to my lovely friend but so glad that I will see her in less than 12 weeks when she comes to London to see American Buffalo.


typical cologne food:-)


in the cathedral





GRACE:


I really liked Cologne, I have never been to Germany before and it was a little bit like London, the shopping was my favourite part of the day and I really loved the cakes and the chocolate, infact the whole day was really brilliant.  Sabrina is so nice and made me feel welcome in her country and I hope to see her soon,  I still want that black dress hahahahahah


the black dress he..?!...well lets wait and see...maybe in May maybe in two years...:-)



DANI:


Sabrina is pretty she has lovely red hair, I love Germany and we have matching hello kitty teddies.  I like Cologne it was cold and didn’t rain and I think the Cathedral is really big it looked like my waffle – my favourite part of the day was buying stuff and eating – I loved the chocolate factory and wish I could go there every day.  Thank you Sabrina and see you soon xxxx

Thank you girls!! love you




and thanks a million Emma for your friendship and for being my inspiration my coach and my
partner here and in real life!!


Pic of the day

source damian-lewis.com

100 to love Damian Lewis


because he is just a cool guy:-)))

PREVIEW

We happy to tell you a little bit <bout the coming months..

besides you see our usual installments and Damian Lewis news you will also
see from March to May our "Tips for Trips"

since a lot of people will go and see American Buffalo we take the chance to
show you great locations and tips for Hotels Restaurants and Sightseeing Programme
and what to do in London....






we start it all next week!!!!


Tea and a Mag Belfast Telegraph...2012

Damian Lewis has joked he can "get a bit Burt Reynolds" if he wears a shirt with too many buttons undone.


The British actor likes looking dapper, and credits the fashions worn in TV show Mad Men as his go-to inspiration.
Damian would love to look like hunky Jon Hamm's character Don Draper, but has joked he's sometimes a little off the mark.
"I like that 1960s Mad Men thing that's going on," he told website Mr Porter.

"Equally I can get a bit Burt Reynolds if I wear the right shirt - a few too many buttons undone. It's not a good look but I just can't avoid it happening!"

Damien is famed for his role as Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, and is currently starring as Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in Homeland.
The 41-year-old star looks the part with his short red hair and chiselled features, but insists this isn't why he's won the roles.

"That's what President Obama asked me! He thought it was because I looked like the guy I was playing. So I made a joke - I said, 'No Mr President, it was because of my outstanding leadership qualities and moral probity'.
"And he wasn't sure for a minute - he was like, 'Who the f**k is this guy?'" he laughed.



source damian-lewis.com

Thursday 26 February 2015

Wolf Hall and a look ahead

Hello everyone!!

please see a very detailed and long Wolf Hall roundup on our main site today

as usual: damian-lewis.com 

Thank You for your wonderful comments the past six weeks about Damian Lewis and Wolf Hall
and as always a very BIG thank you for reading the Blog ans our Website!!!!!!

you probably noticed already the changed header...
we start our American Buffalo and London previews next week and continue till May
see here great and lovely London tips and all about the play on our main site
of course we keep the usual instalments!!

we truly hope you will enjoy and wish cast and crew for American Buffalo the very best and best of luck
and THANK YOU for Wolf Hall and such high quality TV


Wednesday 25 February 2015

Wolf Hall tonight

Anne accuses Cromwell of betrayal when she finds out he tried to protect Mary and not Elizabeth at a time of crisis. But Anne's power is dissolving rapidly and her enemies are gathering.

Anne argues with Jane Rochford but in her anger Anne divulges that the musician Mark Smeaton and the nobles Francis Weston and Harry Norris have all declared their love to her, a treasonable offence.

Jane Rochford takes great pleasure in reporting these events to Cromwell. She further insinuates that her husband George Boleyn's unhealthy sexual appetite extends to his sister. Cromwell is dumbfounded by such accusations, but brings Mark Smeaton in for questioning. Smeaton foolishly boasts of his own exploits with the Queen, and under duress starts to spill other names including Norris, Weston and William Brereton. Cromwell now has enough information to act and these men together with Anne and George Boleyn are brought to the Tower of London.

As Cromwell visits each gentleman in his cell, he thinks back to Cardinal Wolsey's demise and remembers how each of Norris, Weston, Brereton and George Boleyn had cruelly mocked his master. Cromwell has exacted the ultimate revenge.

Anne is also found guilty and sentenced to death. But with so many heads removed, who now stands between Cromwell and the King



Pic of the day

source damian-lewis.com

My highlight part two

“Suddenly, the TV industry transformed itself and, arguably, I was in the vanguard of that with Band of Brothers,” he continued. “For the first time, someone was prepared to spend $120 million on a TV show, go and film it abroad, hire local crews and local talent to make use of the tax break — that’s starting to sound a bit like a film to me. Then, after that, Brits were allowed to do American TV, Australians were allowed to do American TV. It had always been a very American thing. I can only think of Pierce Brosnan on Remington Steele. Sure, there was the occasional Brit that showed up in things, but it just got opened up to us and it’s because TV became this more independent-feeling art form and people would go abroad to shoot. The whole thing is terrific for someone like me; I’m just very lucky that it happened in this time.”

After HBO’s acclaimed WWII miniseries Band of Brothers, Lewis starred in 2002’s 10-episode retelling of The Forsyte Saga, 2003’s big-budget adaptation of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher, 2005’s powerful Keane, and Life, a 2007 NBC drama about a man who is released from prison after 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit.

“After Band of Brothers I was given opportunities and I just had a not very good experience being in Hollywood,” Lewis said nonplused, the passing years having dulled the sting. “At that point, I resolved to follow the good scripts, whether they be in film, TV, theater, or radio. And I’ve done that — mostly. I think I’ll continue to try to do that. I’m not very good at taking projects because there is some perceived wisdom that this is what one does next. If it doesn’t speak to me, I won’t do it. That’s the truth of it.”

If the industry finds Lewis unwilling to play their game that’s because he carries with him the lessons of years and projects past, and reminds himself as he would remind his students: “Just remember that people have short memories. They will love you while they love you, and then after that it’s ‘Damian who?’ That’s show business. You’ve got to just concentrate on doing the thing that exercises you, energizes you.”

Hollywood is — at least for the time being — a much more hospitable environment for Lewis this time around. “I have even more choice,” he said of the projects offered to him with Homeland on his resume and a Best Actor Emmy on his shelf. “I made two or three films, the scripts of which I really liked, and then I didn’t really read any other film scripts I really liked. Gone are the days when you take a movie because it’s a movie. Fifteen years ago, that’s what you did. You don’t do that anymore because you could very quickly be in three very not good films and that’s it — your Homeland window just closed. Because TV is now what it is, you can choose TV and no one looks at you funny and says, ‘Why are you doing TV instead of movies?’”

That notion led Lewis to Wolf Hall, a six-part miniseries adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels about Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), the conniving confidant to King Henry VIII (Lewis) during his reign. “I loved the books, I loved Hilary Mantel’s reimagined world, and a little bit of a reappraisal of this central character, Thomas Cromwell, who — certainly if you’re a Catholic — is second only to Satan,” Lewis said.

He was also attracted to Mantel’s incarnation of the oft-played Henry VIII. “We find a man who is not this great philandering, syphilitic Elvis,” said Lewis. “He’s a rounded, complex, Renaissance prince who desperately wants a son and is clearly, in our version of it, at times childlike, impetuous, explosive, tender, and loving. It’s interesting to get a look at Henry in this rounded way — and also quite a fresh way to approach Henry because he’s not the star at the center of his own story. You tell a story about the Tudor court, Henry the VIII is usually the starring role. Thomas Cromwell is the star here, so you get snapshots of Henry and I think it gives us opportunities to show the man, individual moments of him that I think will ring very clearly and loudly in a different way.”

Through that role, Lewis learned that sometimes you must rely on the gifts of others to support and enhance the skills that you bring to the table. “It’s hard to play a king,” Lewis said. “You realize that you have to let external things influence your power. So, [they] put me in these extraordinary clothes — he’s very much the peacock, always the most colorful man there. He’s always got a bit more fur than anyone else, his codpiece is a little bit longer. Then, with the brilliance of Mark and others, they play a slightly more deferential role. Choosing when to make eye contact, choosing when not to make eye contact, stillness, sometimes a measured quality in the delivery: All of those things can help you with status. People who … feel no need to rush, they’re used to being listened to and not interrupted. It’s finding different pace and rhythm.”

Lewis will next return to a place he knows all too well, starring (alongside Paul Giamatti) in an episodic television series for Showtime, Billions, a Wall Street drama written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Rounders) and Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big to Fail). While Lewis learned the hard way what can come from building a character piecemeal as scripts come in, it’s also an exhilarating experience that he can’t wait to tackle again.

“I used to worry that you won’t always know what’s going to happen in the story because, quite frankly, sometimes the writers don’t know,” he said. “They have a broad outline, but things shift and change from week to week. People come in with ideas and they develop a slightly different storyline than they thought they were going to. I’ve come to like the spontaneity of that. Getting a new episode every 10 days is like going to bed, picking up your novel, and reaching the next chapter. And it’s great fun to go, ‘Wow, I did not see that coming — and now I’m going to play that!’”

Perhaps the most important lesson Lewis has taken to heart is to confront the past and not run from it.

“I put myself back in the situation I was in before, which is always a slightly ball-tightening moment,” he said, with a laugh, of committing to another long-term series. “There’s no way of knowing how a show is going to turn out, but it’s the same with film. You can sign up with some of the most respected names in Hollywood and it can be a turkey.

“Everyone’s doing their best, but things don’t always work out. It’s the same in everything you do. I’m going to do a play in the West End (American Buffalo) and it’s David Mamet, so it’s only ours to fuck up. I mean, we won’t try to — but we might!”


source damian-lewis.com



Monday 23 February 2015

Pic of the day....



pictures:damian-lewis.com

THE man in Style

source damian-lewis.com

My highlight part one For me one of the best interviews ever




The Homeland alum relied on two decades of invaluable Hollywood lessons to tackle lead roles in a pair of new television projects, BBC Two’s period drama Wolf Hall and Showtime’s high-finance pilot Billions.


When Damian Lewis faced the press on Jan. 19, for the first time since he was killed off Showtime’s Homeland in December 2013, the 43-year-old still bore an uncanny resemblance to Sgt. Nicholas Brody, thanks to his close-cropped hair, rigid posture, and clean-shaven face. But it quickly became clear that, on the inside, he couldn’t be more different than the man who signed on to the series in 2011.

Thanks to Homeland, Lewis — who calls himself an “autodidact” — was afforded some incredibly unique learning experiences. “I love doing projects where there’s something to be learned,” Lewis told BuzzFeed News, sitting at the far end of a long, empty dining room table of an ornate hotel conference room in Pasadena, California. To properly bring Brody to life, he studied the Qur’an and learned about the Islamic faith and the experiences of U.S. Marines deployed in Afghanistan. “The wonderful thing about acting is you can be on a 40-year university course.”

But Lewis has also grown through the wisdom gleaned from his own professional mistakes — again, most recently through his role on Homeland, for which he won an Emmy Award in 2012.

Lewis’ character, Nicholas Brody — an American prisoner of war who was rescued and returned home a changed man (not so spoiler alert: He was a sleeper agent for the enemy) — was not designed to remain on the series indefinitely. But when the show clicked with critics and fans took a shine to Brody’s burgeoning relationship with CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), the creators’ initial plan was scrapped. But by the third season, many viewers had grown weary of the duo’s increasingly operatic romantic entanglements and the character was, as initially planned, killed off in a brutal and shocking death scene.

“He had to go,” Lewis said, without hesitation. “When I took the show, I was really of the understanding I would only be there for two years. I stayed for a third season because TV rollover came into play: ‘This is our show and we can’t get rid of him.’ I think the one area of the story the writers weren’t clear would work was this relationship. So when it worked, they were ambushed by success of that central storyline and they had a problem because people were now tuning in to see this relationship.

“We set out to make a different drama: a show about the flawed characters at the center of a flawed central intelligence agency that is protecting the interests of a flawed country in the name of a flawed idea — which is called democracy — against a bunch of radical, violent people. This was our big central idea and [then we had] people tuning because they want to see if these people are going to get together or not.”
A Brody-less Season 4 of Homeland premiered in October 2014 to promising reviews, as hopeful critics noted the show looked to be returning to its roots. That promise paid off — in spades — as Homeland experienced a complete creative resurrection. “I think they did a brilliant job of just extricating themselves, tiptoeing away from the situation,” Lewis said of the fourth season, which went on to earn rave reviews. “What they’ve been able to do in Season 4 is get back to the nuts and bolts of the CIA and this great, brilliant, flawed character, the manic-depressive at the center of it all.”

Homeland’s presence is still felt in Lewis’ life. “It can be aggressive, that kind of adulation,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “People can go a little bit crazy, so there’s quite a lot of manhandling in the streets. Now I know what it must have been like to be Brad Pitt for an entire lifetime, ever since he did that scene in Thelma and Louise where he took his top off — I’m straight and that scene did it for me as well. There’s a very small group of people who have lived at that elevation and at times it was overwhelming, but I’ve enjoyed slightly calmer waters subsequently.”


During that downtime, Lewis returned to Guildhall School of Music and Drama, his alma mater, in an attempt to parlay some of his Hollywood knowledge to a new generation of actors. “I tell the students, your ambition shouldn’t be to be in Homeland or Lord of the Rings because those really are so rare,” he said. “You can be a talented, brilliant, successful, well-paid actor without having one of those moments. That moment is a phenomenon when something like that happens. No one goes to drama school to be famous; I had no notion I would be doing American TV shows or films — I grew up going to the theater, a very middle-class family that toddled off to the theater all the time, and that was my love and my experience of the art form. So I went to drama school saying, ‘I’m going to go to the Royal Shakespeare Company and I’m going to be the new generation of great theater actor.’ Then the entertainment landscape shifted dramatically just as I was coming of age as a male actor.

 To be continued 

source damian-lewis.com

Damian Lewis...the good old memory clip



thanks to damian-lewis.com

Friday 20 February 2015

Weekend Reminder

American Buffalo!!

tickets selling fast so don't miss the great opportunity to see Damian Lewis on stage
he is a marvelous stage actor as well as onscreen but so different so its a treat to see him
acting on stage.

he is brilliant and he brings two other brilliant actors with him:-)  





TICKETS HERE:

Tea and a Mag part two

Even though you are a redhead? DL: Yes. I love being a redhead - always have done. I dyed it dark brown once for a job. Never again. It takes forever to grow out. I feel like I've done it. I have no plans to go black, bleach blond or any other colour for that matter. 

What would you do if you were invisible for the day? DL: I can't say what I just thought of because it's unrepeatable. I would get myself to America and get on a spaceship and go to the moon. It's something I'd love to do, but I can't be bothered with all the training beforehand. If I was invisible, I could just sneak on. Failing that, I'd walk around pinching bottoms and goosing girls. No really, I'm kidding... 

Would you ever move to LA? DL: Not at the moment. Although I do like it. It's always sunny and I always have fun there. I've made some really good friends in Hollywood. But the truth is, I'm a Londoner. I grew up here and I love it. It can get tiresome at times, but then I just escape. I have a country house in Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales. I love going there and relaxing. My dad is half-Welsh so I have family history in the area. 

Where do you live now? DL: Camden, North London. I live with my sister and brother. We're surrounded by goths who live nearby. 

Would you ever star in an advert? DL: I'm really good friends with Jasper Conran and I always wear his clothes. (Damian then opens his suit jacket to reveal a Jasper Conran label.) The cut is very elegant. I would model for him - if he wanted me to, although I don't know whether he is stupid enough to ask. And obviously, money has something to do with it. But I'm not shy of walking down the catwalk. I've never endorsed a product. I hear stories of Robert Redford doing cigar ads in Japan and stuff like that, but no, not me. 

You've worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the past - are you a luvvie at heart? DL: Yes, I suppose I am. I do air-kissing and go to all the parties. I like to say, I `play' the room rather than `work' the room. There's nothing wrong with a good schmooze. 

You appear to choose your roles carefully then disappear off our screens for months at a time. What do you do during those in-between periods? DL: In reality, I've actually been working non-stop for the past year. I've got six things all coming out now. I think I'll have a bit of time off once I've finished promoting everything. I like to play the piano, but I'm really bad. I don't have lessons, I'm teaching myself. I don't have a grand piano, just a normal upright one at home. 

What makes you cry? DL: I find it really difficult to cry. When I think about it, I don't feel the need to cry very often. I'm a pretty happy person. If I do feel upset or down, I'm more likely to go quiet. I'm the silent type. 

Damian Lewis stars in the two-parter From Colditz With Love on ITV1 tonight, 9pm and tomorrow night, 9pm 

DAMIAN'S REALITY CHECK 

Who plays Zoe in EastEnders? 

No idea. (Michelle Ryan) How much do you spend on a haircut? 

pounds 40. I get it cut on Camden High Street. I'd never cut it myself. I am thinking of shaving my head, but am not sure whether it'd actually look that good. Do you do your own washing? 

Yes. I separate darks from whites myself. Who do you think does it? A cleaner? She does the ironing. 

Have you ever bought anything from eBay? 

Never. Although I have been on it. I donated a Band Of Brothers cap for a charity auction, I think it went for something like 42p. 


Pic of the day

source damian-lewis.com

more and more priceless moments







Damian Lewis...



source damian-lewis.com


Burning Love--Elvis Presley

Thursday 19 February 2015

Wolf Hall.....its a pleasure!!

the usual Thursday roundup couldn't be more fun to do than after this amazing episode last night.
read our own extended review as always within the next days and enjoy the excellent reviews and
brilliant comments in fully detail on our site:
damian-lewis.com

here comes the summary:-)

“Damian Lewis is certainly a tour de force in this episode. Some stunning acting going on.”

“Damian Lewis really is the only person capable of playing Henry VIII.”

“#wolfhall would fall down without a really brilliant Damian Lewis as Henry.”

“A round of applause to Damian Lewis for that superb performance in tonight’s Wolf Hall.”

“Damian Lewis really is the only person capable of playing Henry VIII”

“Damian Lewis is doing excellent work in Wolf Hall. Magnetic.”

“Damian Lewis is so good as the capricious monarch that at times you want to slap some sense into him and remind him to stop being such a prima donna. But you’d probably get your head lopped off.”

Damian Lewis is superb would love it! ( Such a stunning character actor.)”

“Mark Rylance, Damien Lewis amazing performances from an incredible drama”

“Outstanding performance tonight by Damian Lewis as Henry VIII!”

"Love how Damian Lewis plays Henry a little more unhinged every week."
"Damian Lewis is superb"

" Wolf Hall was incredible tonight. Hard to beat Keith Michell as Henry VIII but Damian Lewis nailed it"

"Brilliant tonight just brilliant."

" Damian Lewis is very kingly and a terrific royal psycho"


"each ep of surpasses the previous in mesmerising excellence. Wow the genius, the power of Mark Rylance & Damian Lewis tonight!"


Damian Lewis is so good as the capricious monarch that at times you want to slap some sense into him and remind him to stop being such a prima donna. But you’d probably get your head lopped off. It might be the penultimate episode of the series but, fear not, this is not the end for Cromwell just yet according to the history books. Scheming queen Anne should be worried, mind you.

Damian Lewis plays Henry as outwardly gorgeous. The camera lingers on his sumptuous dress. He struts like a peacock, elbows akimbo, as in the Holbein portrait. But Lewis conveys the moral rottenness within.




and a preview for the final episode...well for now guess we all hope for Hilary Mantel`s
third Cromwell book:-)



  
13 hours agwas incredible tonight. Hard to beat Keith Michell as Henry VIII but nailed it.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Wolf Hall episode five...tonight!!

Power struggles aplenty as Henry shows Cromwell his violent side...
It's 1535 and Henry's heart is being pulled towards the demure Jane Seymour. Anne Boleyn finds herself increasingly out of favour and her future hangs on whether she can finally give the king a male heir. 'How many men can say my only friend is the king of England?’ ponders Cromwell. But Cromwell knows that he can't rely on Henry's friendship, and the monarch even lashes out at his most trusted servant. Are we seeing Cromwell's own grip on power slipping? There are some cracking scenes between Henry and Cromwell, while the dastardly Lady Rochford continues to plot like mad.


Pic of the day..

source damian-lewis.com

Damian singing...


Damian Lewis about....

It's no wonder we grow up believing Henry VIII left England and his six wives All Shook Up.
Because Wolf Hall Damian Lewis thinks school history lessons have taught us he was just like a very different King – Elvis Presley in his final years.
Now the Homeland star, who plays Henry in the BBC2 drama, wants us to take a different view of the Tudor tyrant – as a sensitive, talented athlete who loved his mum.
Damian says: “I think we all have this understanding that Henry was this womanising, syphilitic, bloated, genocidal Elvis character.
“But actually the truth is very different. He had a 32inch waist and remained that way for a long time.
“He spoke three languages, wrote poetry and at 6ft 3in tall he was the pre-eminent athlete of his generation, a brilliant jouster and archer.”
Damian Lewis says a jousting injury that ended the king’s sporting days and his desperate quest for a son and heir turned him bad.
“He started to eat and wallow in self pity about his predicament,” says the star.
“He sort-of ended up like Elvis, just growing fat, having been this beautiful, brilliant man, this performer, much like Elvis. He just ate too many hamburgers, you know.
"He’s said to have eaten 13 meals a day at times. I think his increasing megalomania and paranoia created more of the monster we’re used to knowing.”
Damian also reckons Henry is much maligned over his women troubles.
“He was a man who was rather sensitive, not this sex maniac. A man who believed in a rather old-fashioned romantic love. I think a strong influence in his life was his mum,” he says.
Damian, 43, spoke during a break in filming on the set of Wolf Hall.
Based on Hilary Mantell’s novel, it also stars Mark Rylance as shadowy Tudor “fixer” Thomas Cromwell and Clare Foy as the King’s second wife Anne Boleyn.
After four years in the States playing Marine Sgt Nicholas Brody in Homeland he jumped at the chance to work with 55-year-old Mark.
He says: “Mark was a big draw for me. I’m a huge fan of his and chance to work with him was exciting.”