musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Author: Damianista
Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!
We talked about “American” Damian earlier here. From Dick Winters to Charlie Crews to Nicholas Brody to Bobby Axelrod, Damian Lewis has given us a wide portfolio of American characters all of whom we have fallen in love with. And given that Damian is probably more well-known for the American characters he has brought to life, one just wonders about how this all started!
Happy Labor Day! I am hoping most of you have had the chance to make that last beach trip before the summer ends while I have been sitting at my desk writing about Damian’s summer, the third in a row he has enjoyed fully!
Damian constantly worked all summers between 2011 while he was shooting Homeland to 2016 when they were starting the Billions shoot in summer. So, when asked by a fan at The Goat stage door back in May 2017 about what he would be doing between The Goat and Billions, whose shoot would not start until September, he responded promptly:
I mean, a broken rib, a busted knee, what is next? It seems these two are not pretending anymore!!! 😀
And with the hope that both Damian and Kelly have had a full recovery by now, we share our tribute to everyone’s favorite Billions moment one more time.
ENJOY!
A good hour of television absolutely starts with good writing and I pride myself in calling Willie Reale, the writer of Billions Season 1 Episode 10 Quality of Life, a genius way before I find out that he is, in fact, one! I don’t know if you are familiar with MacArthur Fellowships also known as “Genius Grants” but Mr. Reale is a recipient of this fellowship “in recognition of his ingenuity in creating theater and theater education programs for young people.” Bravo!
Quality of Life, with Donnie’s memorial service being at its heart, has a number of moving parts; however, Mr. Reale delivers the story seamlessly with a number of timely back and forths between the memorial service and all else going on and the episode’s director Karyn Kusama perfectly translates the writing into action. And, in my humble opinion, Brian Koppelman’s tweet sharing with us that the fake argument scene between Axe and Dollar Bill was Reale’s idea alone deserves standing ovation for this brilliant writer! Continue reading “A Tribute to Everyone’s Favorite Billions Moment: The Fake Fight”
Damianista’s note: I wrote this post just after the closing night of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? back in 2017! While it feels like yesterday, I published it more than two years ago — so it deserves a Throwback Thursday. ENJOY!
Well, 12 weeks were gone with the wind and The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? has now closed. And, as if we need another reason to celebrate Damian’s work, I would love to take the closing of The Goat as a unique opportunity to celebrate 12 weeks of Damian Lewis on stage. Please enjoy our Fan Fun Goat Party from previews to media appearances to jam sessions to stage door experiences!
Hi everyone! Damianista here. We have been following the Billions cast truly enjoying each other’s company and genuinely supporting cast members’ performances on screen and stage for some time now. We are thrilled to have The Tail that Wags the Dog on the blog today giving us the Billions Family and the fun they have together. And HUGE thanks go to Kelly AuCoin, Chris Carfizzi, Daniel K. Isaac, and Stephen Kunken for providing quotes for the article.