‘It’s very authentic, dripping in sincerity, there’s nothing sensational about it. It had a docu-drama feel to it which people responded to. –Damian Lewis on Band of Brothers
Well… Once he gets the part, the two Hollywood giants Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks leave the room and Tony To, the executive producer, asks: “Hey Damian, how’d you like to go to boot camp in March?”
Ha! The boot camp… It is, in fact, what FILLS the black box I’ve been talking about… The Transformation, quoting Damian himself, from “a rice pudding” to a “celery stalk” 🙂
Regardless of the context it is set in, a good TV show is ultimately about human relations. It is the complex characters with exciting and compelling relationships in their personal and professional life that MAKE it great. And we can’t have enough of them in Billions.
I live and work in a world, academia, that cannot be farther away from the world of Axe Capital. Thus, I am fascinated by this world that is ALL NEW to me, and, in particular, by how Axe runs his business. Here’s my take on what it takes to be king with many thanks to Lady Trader who kindly read the post and gave me the thumbs up earlier.
Bobby “Axe” Axelrod is running a 15 billion dollar worth hedge fund. He is, in Chuck’s words, “an icon of the wealth of our age.” Thanks to his power and influence on the markets, Axe is the king that he is. Revered. Respected. Envied. However, as Pete Decker points out it is a zero-sum game and “these guys are like kings. There is always someone coming to assassinate them.” So… how do you run a business in a setting where there is always someone, say it is the US attorney, the SEC or another hedgie, trying to mess with you? Yes, exactly like a king, you have your close circle, you have your fixers. But one keyword stands out in Axe’s tight network: Loyalty. Continue reading “How Loyalty Rules Bobby Axelrod’s Billions *UPDATED*”
One of my best friends from high school, who lives in Istanbul, and I, who live in the US, make a decision to meet somewhere in between and choose London as sort of a mid-point. We buy our tickets in February for our very anticipated London trip in May. And now that I am back from the trip, I just can’t help congratulate myself for randomly choosing the BEST week in May to be in London!
First: The weather. Four consecutive days of sunny, summer-y weather!
source: Damianista
Second: The Tube. My friend and I take the Tube everywhere. And, at some point, we just cannot stop giggling since one certain ginger greets you everywhere, and I am not exaggerating a bit, everywhere you go! The Tube door opens and here is Damian looking at you either from an Our Kind of Traitor poster or a Billions poster. You sort of feel he is following you everywhere you go. FUN!
source: Damianista
And it is not just limited to the Tube. The pic on the upper right hand side is from Camden Town. Bobby Axelrod lets you know Billions is coming to Sky Atlantic May 12 at 9pm.
Billions has finally made its highly anticipated arrival in Damian-land aka the UK tonight. And it seems the show has some certain households fighting over the remote 🙂
source: @lewis_damian
I don’t know, mate… I would personally avoid from messing with Aunt Pol! Still, a personal invitation from Bobby Axelrod could be too tempting to turn down! 😀
We know Damian does not tweet that often. And when he tweets, he tweets about stuff he cares about. Well, one recent tweet is about English Premier League’s NEW champion Leicester City — a TRUE Cinderella story! 🙂
source: @lewis_damian twitter
Damian Lewis LOVES his footie. It was just last week that he played in the Legends match between England and Germany honoring the 50th anniversary of England winning its one and only World Cup in 1966. You can see the highlights of the match here.
