“Actually, I’m looking forward to being 50, because to me that’s when a woman is at the pinnacle of her femininity and her womanhood.” —Helen McCrory in an interview with The Independent
Thanks to interviews with Helen in The Telegraph and The Times, we found out about her 50th birthday celebrations!
“He (Damian) took me to the Wallace Collection. He got the gentleman in charge to give us a tour, which was my idea of heaven. Then we went to a hotel that will remain nameless, then home.
When I came down to dinner, my whole family were there and a load of friends. Damian is very good at throwing surprise parties. And because I always dress up, I just happened to have on a 1920s backless blue velvet evening gown with a pair of old Fila trainers.”
Damian and Helen hand in hand at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, November 24, 2019
It is no secret we adore these love birds and we are extremely pleased to end the year, exactly like we did in 2015, 2016, 2017,  and 2018 with our favorite Damian & Helen moments of 2019!
Well, it is obviously not easy to be two ridiculously talented and busy actors living together and raising a family. I remember Damian telling us at Cheltenham Literature Festival that the problem never goes away:
“When you’re two actors living together, you’re always asked to do work away from your home, so you just have to decide which ones are important enough to go and do away from home and try to spend the rest of the time together.”
It never ceases to amaze me how philanthropic both Damian and Helen are, especially when it comes to theatrical works or for children and youth organizations that help deliver curricula in education, life skills, and the creative arts. And 2019 was no different! From theatre arts and Red Nose Day to charity concerts, ice cream, and BGC/GFI Charity Day, we have it all broken down for you here. Let’s get started with an unexpected and surprising theatrical performance, Whodunnit.
Whodunnit [Unrehearsed]
This summer at London’s Park Theatre Damian participated in Whodunnit[Unrehearsed], a murder mystery play, without having rehearsed or seen a script, all in the name of charity. Can you imagine acting in front of a live audience without any direction prior to your appearance? Each performance night meant there would be a different guest performer stepping in as the Inspector with a rehearsed ensemble. This means the only direction Damian received came via a hidden earpiece, receiving instructions as the actors on stage attempt to solve a crime in real time, all the while avoiding furniture and staggering their way to crack the case at hand. What I loved about the concept of this play is that the mystery was not so much who the murderer was, but who the Inspector would be! Ticket goers had no idea which celebrity would be appearing as the Inspector each night until the start of the play. Imagine you’re in the audience and they announce Damian Lewis to the stage. That’s exactly what happened to the woman in orange in this video:
For our readers who do not know, Damian has three siblings – his older half-brother William Russell and half-sister Amanda (Russell) Yaxley from his mother Charlotte (Bowater) Lewis’s first marriage – and his younger brother Gareth Lewis. And what a talented bunch these siblings are! Amanda is a prominent and licensed counselor in Bristol, Gareth is a writer, producer and director, and William Anthony Bowater Russell was just elected as the 692nd Lord Mayor of London on October 1, 2019, taking office on November 9, 2019.
William Russell
William appears destined for his new position, as his maternal grandfather, Sir Ian Bowater, GBE, was Lord Mayor of London from 1969-1970 and his great-grandfather Sir Frank Bowater was Lord Mayor from 1938–1939. Moreover, William has been working in the City for over 30 years in national and international banking and is a dedicated educational entrepreneur, the past chair and co-founder of the Knightsbridge School and its international arm KSI. He is on the board of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where his brother Damian attended and graduated from in 1993, and has served as governor at several schools in addition to his work on the City’s committees.
The Lord Mayor of London is chosen from the Aldermen and is the leader of the City of London Corporation. Elected for one-year terms, the Lord Mayor’s main role, both traditionally and in the modern world, is to represent, support and promote the businesses in the City of London to the world as a leader in trade, financial technology, innovation in areas like cybersecurity and green finance, and in culture, which William sees as vitally important to society. The Lord Mayor of London is the international spokesperson for the City, leading business delegations overseas to key international markets on behalf of the entire UK-based financial sector. He will look to strengthen economic ties with the UK, identify new business opportunities and promote the UK as a top global destination for foreign investment.
What does all of this mean for Damian? Well it means the month of November proved extremely busy for Damian’s family, as it involved three major events related to William taking office as Lord Mayor of London. First up was the Lord Mayor’s Silent Ceremony, followed the next day by the Lord Mayor’s Show and closing out the month with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
“Actually, I’m looking forward to being 50, because to me that’s when a woman is at the pinnacle of her femininity and her womanhood.” —Helen McCrory in an interview with The Independent
Thanks to recent interviews with Helen in The Telegraph and The Times, we have found out about her 50th birthday celebrations!
“He (Damian) took me to the Wallace Collection. He got the gentleman in charge to give us a tour, which was my idea of heaven. Then we went to a hotel that will remain nameless, then home.
When I came down to dinner, my whole family were there and a load of friends. Damian is very good at throwing surprise parties. And because I always dress up, I just happened to have on a 1920s backless blue velvet evening gown with a pair of old Fila trainers.”
