We always talk about what we think about Damian Lewis and the characters he brings to life here, and I think, we have to leave the stage to Damian, from time to time, to see WHAT he thinks about… well, anything.
Why not start with what Damian thinks about his wonderful Wolf Hall co-star Mark Rylance?
It turns out Damian Lewis was a fan of Mark Rylance way before they starred in Wolf Hall together! When asked about his acting idols at The Hollywood Reporter Drama Actors Interview in 2012, Damian says:
I cannot imagine then how great it should feel for Damian to be STORMING Wolf Hall together with an actor he has so much respect for.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Damian Lewis again attests to the brilliance of Mark Rylance:
“I don’t know who the greatest actor is—it’s kind of a ridiculous notion—but if you haven’t seen Mark onstage, I’m here to tell you he’s extraordinary. He’s kind of cornered the market in redefining characters that we think we know.”
In fact, Damian Lewis cites Rylance as an important factor for him to take the role of Henry VIII in Wolf Hall and also as a board game master in a Times interview with Polly Vernon 🙂
“Mark was a big deciding factor in me taking the job. I’ve been a fan of his for many years. He’s a trailblazer in theatre, has been for 20 years.”
…
“Mark is … extraordinary. As a man and an actor. He’s mischievous and deep-down competitive. Not as an actor. As an actor, all he wants is an ensemble. He wants collaboration. As an actor, he couldn’t be more generous. But… the man who brings the board game on is the man who’s good at the board game.”
[Damianista’s note: Rylance, apparently carried a backgammon set with him and challenged the cast and crew of Wolf Hall to games during breaks.]
Damian continues:
“I love backgammon because I think I’m going to win, but I often don’t. Mark brought this fantastic game called Pucket – you must spell that correctly, ha ha – and it’s a brilliant, brilliant game. Go and look at it. It’ll make you giggle a lot.”
I’m convinced that Damian giggled a lot playing Pucket on the Wolf Hall set, because he purchased one at an ET Games stand at Port Eliot Festival in summer 2014.
ET Games says:
“Pucket is a frantic dexterity game. Players race each other to clear the pucks from their side of the board by catapulting them through a small hole leading to the other side (the “gate”). Any pucks that arrive on your side must be sent back before you win. The game appeals to anyone with a competitive streak.”
You can easily check out the game rules here and decide if Pucket works for YOU 🙂
ET Games also has a pretty ambitious claim: that Pucket “has brought more entertainment to the world than television.” What? So, you try to tell me Pucket is a better entertainment than Wolf Hall? No, I refuse to believe that 🙂 Having said that… I admit, it could be a better entertainment if we saw a Thomas vs Henry Pucket match exactly like the Boleyn Sisters match below 🙂
One more reason why Damian is adorable…he recognizes other’s talents and he’s absolute fun. Pucket sounds like a game I would play, never heard of it though ( strikes to me like a very European game).
I like backgamon and chess.
Love the first pic with Mark and Damian 🙂
Yes, Damian is always generous when he talks about his co-stars. And I have to say Rylance deserves all the accolades. He is probably the best living stage actor we have right now. Hey, I LOVE backgammon, too! My dad was a great chess player and taught me chess when I was really young. I did not play much after he passed away though. We also love box games like Risk, Clue, Pictionary, etc. Oh, I am a sucker for game and maybe I should try Pucket next!