Bobby Axelrod: A Man of Two Worlds in Billions, Part II

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

Last week we left our discussion of Bobby Axelrod curious about the distance he would go to protect what he has… which brings me to his better half Lara and Team Axelrod! In an earlier post about Team Axelrod, one question I had was whether Lara was involved in the business, and, in fact, how much she knew about what’s going on. So, If we drop a few familiar names for convenience, the question is whether Lara is some kind of a Carmela Soprano (knows and looks the other way), Skyler White (she doesn’t want to know first but then is buried up to her neck) or Claire Underwood (an equal partner from day one).

I am happy to report that, in a nice YouTube interview, Malin Akerman gives a few hints about Lara that, in fact, answer my question: “Great character… Strong female character… just what I was attracted to… You know, it’s, instead of standing behind your man, standing beside your man in this show…” So, yes, even though we don’t know the extent to which she is involved we know that Lara is INVOLVED in business. You can see Malin Akerman’s interview about Billions in its entirety here. Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod: A Man of Two Worlds in Billions, Part II”

Throwback Thursday to an ’80s Cultural icon: SONY Walkman

"I remember going to work with one of those enormous, 
brick-like Walkmans that we all used to have..." 
- Damian Lewis on NPR
source: LA Times
source: LA Times

One of the great things about writing on Damian Lewis is that he’s from my generation. This essentially means I very easily relate to a lot of things about him, from the football team he supports, the pop culture references he makes, his sense of humor or the music he likes — I know some people have found his music taste “unsophisticated” on Desert Island Discs, but hey, we both grew up in the 80s, cut us some slack please ☺ And so some of the stories I write are mine as much as his… like… this one!

Today’s throwback takes us back to 1980s, to a big cultural icon and a real coolness symbol when we happened to be teenagers: SONY Walkman… And to some “tasteful” 80s music as well! 🙂

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to an ’80s Cultural icon: SONY Walkman”

Bobby Axelrod: A Man of Two Worlds in Billions, Part I

“What’s going to be interesting about this story is specifically this story… So who will Bobby Axelrod turn out to be? And what is he prepared to do to retain power?”

– Damian Lewis, TCA 2015 Panel on Billions

source: Getty Images
source: Getty Images

In case you missed it, I did a first sketch of Bobby Axelrod a few weeks ago here using the little information we had in hand at the time from interviews with Damian Lewis accompanied with a few hints from the first 60-second long teaser. Now we had the Billions panel with the show creators and the cast at TCA 2015 in which Damian Lewis gave more than a few hints about Bobby Axelrod, the first full-length series trailer is out and we have a premier date, too! Billions is coming to Showtime on January 17, 2016 — just a few days before my birthday! Well, I happily accept the best gift ever from my favorite actor and expect it to be repeated for a number of years. Thank you, Damian 😀

So… With the new information at hand, it’s time, my friends, to form and re-form opinions and do a re-sketch of Bobby Axelrod! And given that how much I could write with the little information I had last time, this one should be a two-part post! Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod: A Man of Two Worlds in Billions, Part I”

Make Music like Damian Lewis: He plays, He sings & He dances, too!

Ah, the lovely pictures of Damian Lewis at the piano and on the drums from TV Critics Association (TCA) 2015 Summer Tour… I really really wish someone had recorded and posted his singing online for us, the mortals… Alas, we just need to live with the pictures and imagine his sweet voice, quoting my partner JaniaJania, “with a hint of Cabernet” in our ears 😀

source: Whitney Friedlander @loislane79 Twitter
source: @loislane79 and @SHO_PR Twitter

Well, Damian LOVES music! He plays the piano, he sings and he dances, too!

Damian sang in a chamber choir at a young age — days that he remembers fondly at the Music For Youth Schools Prom at Royal Albert Hall in 2013 where he presented awards to inspirational music teachers: Continue reading “Make Music like Damian Lewis: He plays, He sings & He dances, too!”

Trivia Tuesday: Damian Lewis’ Last Day on Homeland Set

source: salon.com
source: salon.com

The “Brody widows” among us — me included in that select group of women — have still not been able to get used to the idea of Homeland without Brody! We were simply devastated when he was gone at the end of Season 3 and we were extremely ecstatic about his 5 minute return in Season 4. And now that we know Damian Lewis will make a wonderful comeback to our TV screens as Bobby Axelrod in Billions in early 2016, we also know that we will always carry Brody in our hearts and move on… to Bobby 🙂 Continue reading “Trivia Tuesday: Damian Lewis’ Last Day on Homeland Set”