TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2017: His Voice Can Bring Anything to Life

His voice. That distinguished, recognizable voice. Yes, THAT voice. Whether it’s soothing poetry reads, children’s bedtime stories or a narrated documentary, we know that voice! I’ve often said Damian could sell me a tube of toothpaste should he ever voice a commercial ad, whether Crest, Colgate, Rembrandt – hell, take your pick. And you can bet your last dollar the company stocks would soar soon after the commercial aired…so much so, Bobby Axelrod would be proud.

Many of his U.S. fans think his British accent alone is dreamy, but combine that with his velvety tone, it’s Mozart to anyone’s ears – always with the right amount of inflection, emphasis and dramatic pause. And perfectly modulated to portray emotions of wrath, bewilderment or exhilaration. That is our beloved Damian Lewis.

And in 2017 we saw Damian lent his voice to a few projects, two of which were standouts of the year: Range Rover Velar and George Orwell’s Talking Statue.

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Much Ado About Nothing

Ah, the romantic comedy: A genre when presented as an evening’s viewing option has sent many an otherwise lovey-dovey couple to opposite ends of the couch. I have to say the romantic comedy has never been my first stop when Netflix surfing. Actually, it’s rarely my choice at all, unless When Harry Met Sally is on (the last great romantic comedy, IMO) or the least appreciated but my personal favorite of the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks vehicles: Joe vs. the Volcano. [The guy falls for different versions of the SAME woman; how much more romantic (and comedic) can you get?]

William Shakespeare knew a thing or two about romantic comedies. In fact, he invented the genre! The formula of boy meets girl, they run up against some obstacles, surmount said obstacles with the help of a jocular coterie of friends, and live happily ever after: That’s Shakespeare! And perhaps the most seminal of his romantic comedies is Much Ado About Nothing. The plot and characters gave rise to many adaptations and permutations. There was the beautifully hilarious big-screen adaptation in 1993 with real-life couple-at-the-time Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. More recently, in 2012, there was another lovely big-screen adaptation, this time by Joss Whedon, set in modern times but true to Shakespearean language. And between those two, in 2005, our very own Damian Lewis starred as Benedick in a BBC adaptation of the story, set in modern times with modern language, for their series Shakespeare ReTold.

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From Homeland to Shakespeare: Damian Lewis Narrates Audiobooks

This post is long overdue. We always hear fans say, and cannot agree with them more, that Damian Lewis can read the phone book and they can listen to him all day. Having said that, why would we have to hear Damian read the phonebook to us as we have much better books out there he could read for us?

source: Mr. Porter

YES! Damian narrates Audiobooks! If you have not tried it before, it is a total pleasure to have him read you a story. It feels like the equivalent of CBeebies for adults, highly recommended for bed time but also for anytime, doctor’s orders! And Damian has narrated a good variety of books that it is really easy to pick a favorite.

Shall we? Continue reading “From Homeland to Shakespeare: Damian Lewis Narrates Audiobooks”

Paul Reynolds : Lizzie Thomas :: Bobby Axelrod : Wendy Rhoades

Of all the compelling themes in Billions, perhaps the most compelling is the relationship between Bobby Axelrod and Wendy Rhoades. We’ve all explored it as some point whenever we’ve talked about Billions. Damianista did a two-part treatise on the relationship between Bobby and Wendy: Part I, Part II. Bookworm saw the story of Peter Pan in them: Fly Away, Fly Away. I focused on their revelatory therapy session in “Magical Thinking”  and imagined their back story as a fanfic: Rubble. Suffice it to say, the relationship has provoked a lot of thought.

Damian took part in a project that focused on a relationship very similar to Bobby and Wendy’s, many years prior to and a continent away from the world of Billions. That film, BBC’s Friends and Crocodiles, centered on a similarly charged platonic relationship between a vibrant man and the practical hard-working woman who could never leave his side, despite herself.  Written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, Friends and Crocodiles was an ambitious production exploring such lofty themes as class, creativity and navigation of British socioeconomic trends over several decades. It was also primarily focused on the possibilities within the passionately-felt work relationship between Paul Reynolds and Lizzie Thomas. Paul and Lizzie, in a way precursors of Bobby Axelrod and Wendy Rhoades, foretold the intricacies of creating and dramatizing such a relationship on screen. (For an excellent recap of the film, refer to Damianista’s TBT summary.)

I’ve alluded to the analogy of Paul and Lizzie to Bobby and Wendy fleetingly in some of my previous posts on Billions. Now, read on as I venture a bit deeper into the comparison. Continue reading “Paul Reynolds : Lizzie Thomas :: Bobby Axelrod : Wendy Rhoades”

TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2015: Hand in Hand

If you feel the need you can debate who is making who look better, but I’m going to be diplomatic and say that Helen and Damian are just gorgeous together.

source: zimbio
source: zimbio

Quite honestly I have no idea how they manage to fit in everything that they do, but it is certainly true that life is not fun if you have no one to share it with. I’m sure Charlie Crews would in all likelihood give us a sad smile in agreement.

Chloe Fox of vogue described Helen and Damian in an interview from 2013 like this

“Separately, they are engaging. Together, they are a little bit intoxicating.”

So, with that wonderful quote in mind, the last blog of 2015 is looking back at our favourite couple hand in hand at various points throughout the year.

65th Berlinale International Film Festival

The couple attend the Berlinale for the premiere of Queen of the Desert in which Damian plays Charles Doughty-Wylie. Damianista actually posted about the Berlinale as an individual top moment for Damian as well.

source: zimbio.com
source: zimbio.com

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