Behind the Scenes with Damian Lewis: The Making of Keane

Lodge Kerrigan’s beautiful film ‘Keane‘ with Damian Lewis has had a 4K restoration  and will be re-opening at the Lincoln Center Film Society on August 19. There will be a Q&A with the director and the actor after the 6:30pm screening on August 20. So… why don’t we get in the mood for Keane by going behind the scenes and take a look at the making of the film?

Alex Gansa knew he had the actor to play Nicholas Brody in Homeland once he saw Damian Lewis’ performance in Keane.

“Every ounce of me wanted to go home and pour a gin-and-tonic, but I thought, let me see if it’s streaming on Netflix. I looked on my computer and put on my headphones and opened my laptop and there was this little movie. The first forty-five minutes of the film are essentially Damian on camera. I hit pause and picked up the phone and called the studio head and said, ‘This is just an incredible performance—a damaged person on camera holding the frame. ”

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Damian Lewis in Keane

The American Buffalo programme booklet has a nice section in which Damian Lewis answers questions asked by fans.

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Mr. Carlos Hill asks: “Which piece of work are you most proud of?”

Damian answers: “I’m proud of all my work. I always turn up and try my hardest to do the best job I can, but I was proud of my Hamlet, playing Soames Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga, and I’m also very proud of a small film called Keane, which not many people saw.”

Well, we talked about Damian’s Hamlet earlier here — both the one with Damian being in the lead role at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park and the one with Damian playing Laertes opposite Ralph Fiennes’ Hamlet on Broadway. We also talked about Damian’s Soames Forsyte in much detail. We only talked about Keane though only in the context that  it gave us Nicholas Brody. And, now that Damian puts Keane in the top three jobs that he’s most proud of, it’s time we talk about Keane. Continue reading “Damian Lewis in Keane”

Keane

As everyone in the northern hemisphere is enjoying summer fun these days, let’s be oppositional and go back to one of Damian’s darkest roles. Here’s a revisit to the role that determined Damian to be the perfect fit for Nicholas Brody: Keane.

A fun fact: Keane was directed by Lodge Kerrigan, who also happened to direct an episode of Homeland, Season 2, “State of Independence”, the episode where Brody has the run-in with the tailor. Remember those chilling scenes in the woods? Beautifully paced, shot, and performed horror, reminiscent of much of the action in Keane.

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Continue reading “Keane”