Which Moment Made Damian Lewis Prouder? Receiving an OBE or Scoring in the Soccer Aid Penalty Shoot?

Here is a question from a fan for Damian Lewis in American Buffalo programme booklet. Jon Holdsworth asks:

“Which moment made you prouder – receiving an OBE from the Queen or scoring in the Soccer Aid penalty shoot-out in 2010?”

obesocceraid

Ha! That’s a tough one!

Let’s first remember these two TOP moments in Damian Lewis’ life!

Damian was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) as part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations in June 2014. OBE is part of the UK honor system and it is “awarded for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.” Accordingly, Damian Lewis has been commended for “his services to drama.”

obemedal
OBE medal

Damian’s first reaction to his OBE was, as usual, priceless: “I decided to do the very un-British thing of accepting the compliment. I don’t think our republican cousins quite understand our honours system or are that bothered about it.”

Hmm… Yes, Damian, it’s not like we, your republican cousins, closely follow the OBEs and MBEs here, but… when you are made OBE, dear cousin, we turn into OBE experts in no time! 😀

The Duke of Cambridge aka Prince William hosted the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace late November last year where the duo seem to have had a few minutes to chat about Homeland as well!

Purchased from PA Images
Purchased from PA Images

Damian tells Daily Mail about being made OBE just after the ceremony at the palace:

 “I was stupified, I had no idea, so it was a big, big surprise… I remember when I heard I was being awarded it, it was a little bit like “now you’ve got to prove it… ‘It was a bit like being asked to be a prefect, now I have to be extremely responsible.”

And he adds about his Homeland chat with the Duke of Cambridge:

“He said ‘Catherine and I are huge Homeland fans.”

“He said ‘you appeared again the other night briefly, and we all got very excited,’ which is true, but it was also on Sunday night which means he is absolutely up to date with the latest episode and I’m amazed they have time for that.”

So… The day Brody came back did not excite just us, the mortals, but also Katherine and William!

But, of course, everyone makes time for Brody 🙂

source: imdb
source: imdb

Now… on to Soccer Aid 2010: We talked about Damian’s Soccer Aid appearances earlier here and here. But, in a nutshell, it is “a biennial British charity event that has raised over £15 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The event is a football match between two teams of celebrities and former professional players, representing England and the Rest of the World(RoW).”

Here’s Team England in Soccer Aid 2010:

source: www.robbiewilliams.com
source: www.robbiewilliams.com

The match between England and the Rest of the World took place on June 6, 2010 at the Manchester’s legendary Old Trafford stadium. And, one of the former professionals that participated in the match was one of all-time BEST: Zinedine Zidane! It’s just so amazing to see one of my favorite footballers and my favorite actor in the same shot playing the game they LOVE!

France's Zinedine Zidane (L) vies with British actor Damian Lewis during the Unicef Soccer Aid charity football match against the Rest of the world at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England on June 6, 2010. Soccer Aid is the brainchild of Robbie Williams and all money raised through profits from ticket sales and donations made by viewers of ITVduring the match will go to UNICEF’s invaluable work helping children around the world. AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW YATES
source: Soccer Aid

Here is a detailed score sheet for the match:

source: wikipedia
source: wikipedia

Because the regular match time was over with England: 2 – Rest of the World: 2 they had to go to a penalty shoot out to determine the winner. One thing about the Soccer Aid penalty shoot is that it’s an all-celebrity zone meaning the world famous former football players  in the match are not allowed to participate in the penalty shoot — fair enough 🙂

When it is Damian’s turn for the penalty shoot, both England and Rest of the World seem to have missed 3 penalties each — which means if Damian scores for England, he will take his team a step closer to winning… Haha I love it the way I dramatize a charity football match!

I’m sure you want to re-live that moment Damian scores the penalty! But first just focus on the look Damian gives to the goal keeper as he comes for the penalty for a second… I mean, it’s just such an out of this world, confident smirk that I can’t help love it… 🙂

damiansmirk

And here comes our Number 8… and the penalty shot! Watch it here!

And… the well-deserved celebration after the penalty!

damianpenalty

And so… which one is it, Damian? Is it the OBE that made you feel like you were made prefect or is it the Soccer Aid penalty shoot that made you jump really really high? 🙂

Damian’s answer to Mr. Holdsworth:

“Receiving the OBE, you’ll be surprised to hear.”

Purchased from AP Images
Purchased from AP Images

It may come a bit surprising when you think this is coming from Damian Lewis who LOVES football and Liverpool and all… But then again… Penalty shoot is great, so much fun and probably some serious adrenaline flowing but OBE is awarded for your accomplishments giving some serious meaning to what you have done with your life so far. It’s flattering. And, besides, you know… Our guy has a soft spot for the Queen, too! When asked about his favorite royal family member earlier in the year, Damian goes:

And it seems you are a Queen favorite, too, Damian… Well done, cousin! 😀

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!

2 thoughts on “Which Moment Made Damian Lewis Prouder? Receiving an OBE or Scoring in the Soccer Aid Penalty Shoot?”

  1. It was a tight guess…but I was surprised too!! It is understandable that OBE made him prouder it is not just like anyone gets it, and being the Queen his favorite Royal…

    Love the pics! It was a jump like a meter high.

    1. OBE should be one of the highest honors in the UK — next: Knighthood 🙂 I still think Soccer Aid penalty is a real close second depending on his facial expression and THE jump after scoring. Certainly more adrenaline with that one!

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