Throwback Thursday to Nicholas Brody and His Muslim Faith

“You live in despair for eight years; you can turn to religion, too. And the King James Bible was not available.” – Nicholas Brody

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

I was born and raised in a secular family in Turkey, a country that is predominantly Muslim. That is, even though I am not religious myself, I am very familiar with the Islamic traditions, rituals and norms. I am obviously coming out of the culture and have been shaped by it in ways that I am probably not aware of 🙂 Thus, I thought it would be neat to talk about Nicholas Brody, my most favorite fictional character ever on small screen, and his Muslim faith, in celebration of Ramadan!

Now, I am not an expert, not even close, about Muslim characters on TV shows; however, even if there had been a popular Muslim character on TV before Brody came along, I just don’t think there is any way she or he could beat him on any popularity scale. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Nicholas Brody and His Muslim Faith”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Agatha Christie’s Poirot

“I was at home a little while ago and that episode came on the TV and I just couldn’t believe how young I was. Where did all those years go?” – Damian Lewis

This was Damian’s response when he was recently asked in an interview with Essex Life about one of his earliest roles on TV, the ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot episode Hickory Dickory Dock.

Lucky you, Damian, you are one of those men who ages like a good bottle of wine… I wanna say red Burgundy to be precise! But in honor of the years that passed since our early 20s, we revisit that young medical student Len Bateson in Hickory Dickory Dock today. ENJOY!

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Agatha Christie’s Poirot”

Happy St. David’s Day – Damian Lewis and His Welsh Roots

happystdavidsday

Happy St. David’s Day, everyone!

Today is the Feast Day of St. David, the patron saint of Wales. Thus, in honor of the day, why not talk about Damian and his Welsh roots?

Here is Damian talking about himself as a “Londoner” and “British” at Times Talks London.

So far so good… Damian is proud of his Welsh roots, and we’re talking about Wales today! But… what do I talk about when I talk about Wales? What do I really know about Wales except the fact that Damian is half-Welsh? Well… I can drop a few Welsh celebrity names like a pro…Sir Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Burton, Gareth Bale… and, of course, the wonderful Denise Salway aka the “Knitting Witch” that creates the wonderful “Wolf Hall in Wool” collection and who made, for Damian, a special personalized gift!

Continue reading “Happy St. David’s Day – Damian Lewis and His Welsh Roots”

Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!

Today is Rare Disease Day, a day to raise awareness about rare diseases and the impact they have on patients’ lives. The primary target of the campaign is the general public; however, it is very important to raise awareness among policy makers, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has an interest in rare diseases. And we would like to take this day to raise awareness as well as funds to find a cure for EB.

Well, most of you know Damian Lewis is a proud patron of Cure EB.

The kids that are born with Recessive Dystropic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) or EB for short lack the protein that holds their skin together. They have extremely fragile skin that they are sometimes called “butterfly children.” Lots of activities we take for granted as easy routines in our daily lives are a struggle for them. Can you imagine a day where your dressing up takes up to two hours and eating and drinking cause blisters in your mouth and throat? These kids have to deal with this kind of pain every single day. Besides, they are under extra risk to develop skin cancer later in life and their life expectancy is not very long. Continue reading “Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!”

How Keane gave us Brody and How Brody gave us Axe *UPDATED*

Lodge Kerrigan’s beautiful film ‘Keane‘ with Damian Lewis received a 4K restoration thanks to Grasshopper Films and had special screenings at several movie theaters in the U.S in summer – fall 2022. I was very lucky to be at the Film at Lincoln Center’s screening in August 2022 followed by a a Q&A with Lodge Kerrigan and Damian himself. The 4K restored ‘Keane’ is available for streaming on AppleTV. So… why don’t we talk today about how this critically acclaimed movie caused a chain reaction in Damian’s career? 

Join me!

Continue reading “How Keane gave us Brody and How Brody gave us Axe *UPDATED*”