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!

Ride4Hugo 2025 in Memory of Hugo and Helen

L-R: Damian, his sister Amanda Yaxley, his brother Gareth Lewis, and brother in-law Charles Yaxley during the bike ride in memory of Hugo and Helen in June 2022

I find it beyond impressive when families turn their tragic losses into good for many others in memory of the loved ones they lost. Ride4Hugo, a campaign Damian’s family run in memory of Hugo Yaxley, Damian and Helen’s nephew, who tragically died in a car accident in November 2020, and also in memory of Helen, who passed away only 5 months after Hugo’s accident, is an extraordinary effort aimed to do good for so many people.

2025 is marking the 5th anniversary of Hugo’s car accident and almost five years since the passing of Helen McCrory. So Hugo’s older brother Tom is getting ready to take on new bike challenges this year with the first one coming up only in a few weeks in the Scottish Highlands!

And Tom is doing this only to raise funds for charities close to Hugo’s and Helen’s and the family’s hearts: Place2Be, Sir HvH Arts, and The Air Ambulances UK.

Continue reading “Ride4Hugo 2025 in Memory of Hugo and Helen”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?”

I wrote this post just after the closing night of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? back in 2017 and updated it once. While it feels like yesterday, I published it more than eight  years ago — so it truly deserves a Throwback Thursday.

ENJOY!

UPDATE 06/28/2017: I am over the moon that Damian tweeted to thank for this very post. It is not that I am expecting anything in return but his sweet gesture is everything. Thank you, Damian! Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?””

My Decade Long “Wolf Hall” Journey Came Full Circle

Henry VIII is a monster, but he’s our monster. We’re perversely proud of Henry. -Hilary Mantel

My decade-long Wolf Hall journey came full circle at the BAFTA TV Awards on Sunday. It was especially lovely to see that it was a true family affair for Damian — his daughter Manon, his son Gully, and his father, Mr. Watcyn Lewis, were all there to support our favorite guy. And I couldn’t help but be moved seeing the two kids who once adorably called the Emmy Award “Emma” now grown into such poised, beautiful young adults. I just love this family.

I’ll be honest — I always dreamed, perhaps selfishly, that my Wolf Hall journey would come full circle with Damian receiving one of those iconic masks for his phenomenal portrayal of Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light. That recognition wasn’t in the cards. But my decade-long Wolf Hall journey has been nothing short of magical and so all is good.

What follows is my way of saying thank you. To everyone behind and in front of the camera: thank you for bringing us the sharpest, smartest, most brilliant historical drama ever made.

THANK YOU.

Continue reading “My Decade Long “Wolf Hall” Journey Came Full Circle”

Damian Lewis as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light

“It seems fairly redundant to say “Damian Lewis is a good actor”, but, well, here we are: his Henry is outstanding, the biggest guy in the room in name and stature if not ever actual presence, something flawed in the hull and he knows it.”

– The Guardian

Wolf Hall is one of the best things that ever happened to TV. A slow-cooking, dark, and witty political drama, it has a contemporary feel. Peter Straughan’s script is wonderfully condensed, with most of the conversation coming directly from Mantel’s pen. Hearing some of the best lines I have ever read spoken by the characters is delightful. Peter Kosminsky’s directing is flawless. Every shot feels like a painting. And while some characters needed to be recast, the continuity is beyond impressive that you don’t feel the nine-year interval between the two productions.  The entire cast gives a masterclass in acting. Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, as the two leads, are electric together. Thus, the long wait was entirely worth it.

Continue reading “Damian Lewis as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light – Episode 6 Light

“Valentines, sorceries, purple doublets. Any jury would laugh you out of the court. But then there won’t be a jury, will there?” – Thomas Cromwell

No jury. No trial. Only an interrogation team, perfectly convinced about Thomas Cromwell being a traitor, asking ridiculous questions. And an Act of Attainder which Cromwell himself also used against others.

Upon arresting him, Kingston brings Cromwell to the Tower, to the very room that Cromwell himself built for Anne Boleyn before her coronation. It is also the same room the late queen spent her days before her execution. Now, in  his solitary confinement, it is inevitable for Cromwell to reflect on his past. And characters from that past, varying from Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Wolsey to Dorothea to the French executioner haunt his dreams. Continue reading “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light – Episode 6 Light”