A Spy Among Friends actor Damian Lewis lost beloved wife Helen McCrory last year, but has found happiness with a new girlfriend.
As the actor wows UK audiences with the new ITVX spy thriller, here’s everything you could possibly want to know about him.
Who is the actor married to?
Tragically, Damian Lewis lost wife Helen McCrory in April 2021, when she was just 52.
Announcing her death in a statement on Twitter, a heartbroken A Spy Among Friends star Damian wrote: “She died as she lived. Fearlessly.”
After Helen’s death from cancer, Damian wrote an emotional tribute in The Sunday Times, describing his wife as someone who always “spread happiness”.
He went on to say: “I’ve never known anyone able to enjoy life as much…she believed in looking out, not in. Which is why she was able to turn her light so brightly on others.
“Go now, Little One, into the air. And thank you.”
How did Damian Lewis meet wife Helen McCrory?
The couple met performing together in a London theatre production of Five Gold Rings back in 2003.
Helen was an established theatre actress.
In the play, Damian and Helen played illicit lovers!
Damian Lewis married Helen McCrory four years later, and the couple had two children: daughter Manon, now 15, and son Gulliver, now 14.
Helen juggled her career with caring for their children, playing Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, and Cherie Blair in The Queen.
How did he become famous?
Damian Lewis grew up in a rich family in London’s posh St John’s Wood.
His father was a stockbroker, and Damian went to Eton.
He studied drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 1993, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Theatre roles followed, including a spell in Hamlet alongside Ralph Fiennes.
Damian also appeared in TV shows Life Force and Hearts and Bones.
But his big break came in 2001 when Steven Spielberg cast him as Richard Winters in his US series Band Of Brothers.
His performance – with his first flawless American accent! – earned him a Golden Globe!
He also starred in Stephen Poliakoff’s 2006 BBC1 drama Friends and Crocodiles, as Paul, a wealthy entrepreneur.
With his quick wit, Damian became a popular guest-host on the satirical show Have I Got News For You.
Then in 2011 came his biggest break of all – as Sgt Nicholas Brody in hit US TV series Homeland.
Who did Damian Lewis play in Homeland?
Damian starred in five seasons of the hit drama, from 2011-14.
While filming, he spent almost half the year living in the US.
His character, Nicholas Brody, is a sergeant in the Marines.
Brody is deployed to Iraq after 9/11.
But Brody is captured, and presumed dead.
Then, eight years later he is found in an Al Qaida cell.
Brody returns home as an American hero.
But he finds it hard to recover from the torture he endured.
Damian co-stars with Claire Danes, whose bipolar CIA offer Carrie Mathison suspects Brody had been secretly turned into a terrorist.
Who did Damian Lewis play in Wolf Hall?
Damian starred in the 2015 series on BBC2 as King Henry VIII.
Adapted from the books by Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall charted the rise of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) in Henry’s court.
The Crown‘s beloved Claire Foy – still many fans’ favourite Queen Elizabeth – played his wife Anne Boleyn.
When did Damian Lewis join Billions?
In 2016 Damian joined Billions’ first series as Bobby Axelrod, a scheming hedge-fund manager who survived the 9/11 attacks.
In epic scenes, his character, “Axe” repeatedly clashed with attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti).
But after five seasons as “Axe”, Damian was written out at his request in 2021. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Will Damian Lewis return to Billions?
We think so! Season 5 ended with Axe making a run for it to Switzerland, to avoid prosecution.
And in typical Axe style, he took a few billion dollars with him!
Season six pretty much bombed without Damian, 52, in it.
But in November 2022, MailOnline snapped pictures of him shooting scenes near Tower Bridge with some of the Billions cast!
Damian was pictured filming with David Costabile who plays Wags Wagner.
Season seven is currently in production.
He has previously told the New York Times: “There’s an opportunity, maybe, for me to return.”
Is Damian Lewis dating anyone?
Yes. At his wife’s memorial service, Damian revealed that Helen wanted him “to love again”.
And in July 2022, American rocker Alison Mosshart‘s mum Vivian “confirmed”to the Daily Mail that her daughter is dating Damian.
It’s claimed he met Alison, 43, a musician and artist, through mutual friends.
Alison is famed for fronting the band The Kills.
The pair have been spotted at various events together.
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