Why Damian Lewis Deserves a Golden Globe for his Henry VIII in Wolf Hall

“Henry VIII is a monster, but he’s our monster. No other nation has a king who had six wives and cut the heads off two. We’re perversely proud of Henry.” – Hilary Mantel

source: BBC
source: BBC

Well, I wrote this blog post to celebrate Henry VIII’s birthday in June as a personal tribute to my Henry — Damian Lewis — for storming Wolf Hall but it also works perfectly to celebrate this day! Damian Lewis has just received a Golden Globe nomination for his fantastic portrayal of Henry VIII in Wolf Hall – congratulations!

Wolf Hall has received 3 Golden Globe nominations — Best TV Mini Series or Movie, Best Actor in a Mini Series or TV Movie (Mark Rylance), and Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini Series or TV Movie (Damian Lewis)!  Congratulations to everyone involved in the making of one of the best, if not the best, mini-series that ever happened to TV!
Continue reading “Why Damian Lewis Deserves a Golden Globe for his Henry VIII in Wolf Hall”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis Receiving an OBE Award

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrate this wonderful holiday with family and friends — we indulge ourselves maybe a little bit too much with turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and give thanks, among other great things in our lives, for Damian Lewis and the characters he brings to life and into our lives 🙂 And then we travel back to exactly one year ago and be proud of our favorite actor one more time! Because, exactly one year ago today, Damian Lewis received his OBE from Duke of Cambridge and made us all proud!

Purchased from PA
Purchased from PA Images

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis Receiving an OBE Award”

Trivia Tuesday with “Free Man of London” Damian Lewis

source: BBC
source: BBC

Did you know that Damian Lewis received the Freedom of the City of London honour in recognition of his achievements as an actor in March 2013?

Freedom of the City of London is one of the oldest surviving traditions still in existence today. It is believed that the first Freedom was granted in 1237. According to Wikipedia, being a “free man” in old times came with certain privileges, varying from the right to drive sheep and cattle over London Bridge to carrying a naked sword in public. Continue reading “Trivia Tuesday with “Free Man of London” Damian Lewis”

Trivia Tuesday with Damian Lewis: OBE or Soccer Aid Penalty?

Here is yet another question from a fan for Damian Lewis from American Buffalo programme booklet. Jon Holdsworth asks: “Which moment made you prouder – receiving an OBE from the Queen or scoring in the Soccer Aid penalty shoot-out in 2010?”

obesocceraidHa! That’s a tough one!

Let’s first remember these two TOP moments in Damian Lewis’ life!

Damian was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) as part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations in June 2014. OBE is part of the UK honor system and it is “awarded for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.” Accordingly, Damian Lewis has been commended for “his services to drama.” Continue reading “Trivia Tuesday with Damian Lewis: OBE or Soccer Aid Penalty?”

The Crows are circling

Wolfhall seems an awful long time ago to me. I saw it when it aired in the UK at the beginning of the year. Therefore the run up to the Emmys provided the perfect excuse for a re-watch and I continue our countdown to the Emmys by looking specifically at the episode for which Damian has been nominated (Wolf Hall, episode five, ‘Crows’) in the best supporting actor for ‘TV Movie or Limited series’ category.

source: BBC
source: BBC

The first question to ask is why episode five? Damian’s performances across the five episodes he is in – he only appears briefly at the end of episode one – are all very solid and any one of them could easily be the one up for nomination.

Some people complained that episode one was too slow paced, but if you had the patience to stay with it you get the reward. Think of Wolfhall as a pot slowly simmering to a boil. Episode five is when Wolfhall begins to come to the boil in readiness for a finale in episode six which will sear itself into our minds. Episode five simmers and crackles. It begins to reach the point of boiling over…and that isn’t the pot lid threatening to blow off that is the King with steam coming out of his ears! Continue reading “The Crows are circling”