musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
A painting. A drawing. A kidney. A patent. Oh, and an IQ test!
This fast-paced and clever Billions episode gives us an extremely fun hour in which Axe, Chuck, Taylor and Wendy all have to play fast chess to deal with both personal and professional matters. Anything is fair game to get what they want. Some win, some lose and some get, well, outright creepy! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime Season 5 Episode 6: The Nordic Model”
It is no secret I have been fascinated by Bobby Axelrod’s backstory in Billions, in particular his family background. A few glimpses we had into the life of young Bobby in every season made me think hard and deep about his past as well as how that past seems to have shaped Bobby Axelrod’s life. I was able to see the trauma he went through in his relationships – from his marriage to his parenting to his friendships. And I sat down and wrote about Bobby Axelrod – the boy whose dad never came back. Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod: The Boy Whose Dad Never Came Back”
So where to begin about this episode – entertaining, surprising, and heartbreaking – absolutely the best so far in Season 5? The best point of departure may be the definition of “contract” as Axe gives during his game of billiards with Savion since we see a number of contracts – explicit and implicit – drawn, signed, or not, in one of the best hours Billions has given us in its history.
“A contract is an understanding between men that they’ll see things the same way, that they’ll keep code. That they’ll honor the spirit of their relationship even in unforeseen circumstances.”
Axe, Wags and Bach are sitting in Leah Calder’s – the head of the office approving state charter applications – office clueless that Chuck was there earlier with Kate to convince Ms. Calder not to approve Axe’s application and thereby preventing a crime before happening! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime Season 5 Episode 5: Contract”
Today’s throwback takes us to, probably, the most famous star-crossed lovers in history… Oh, no, sorry, I am not talking about Carrie and Brody 😀
Damian Lewis is no stranger to Shakespeare. He played Romeo in Birmingham Rep’s Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet in Hamlet in the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, London in 1993 and 1994, respectively, as a fresh graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Then he did his Broadway debut as Laertes to Ralph Fiennes’ Hamlet in Almeida Theatre’s production in 1995. Damian also performed as Posthumous in Cymbeline and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also brought to life a lovely Benedick on BBC’s Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About Nothing. Damian took on the role of Lord Capulet in a 2013 big screen adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Damian kicked off Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday Celebrations in 2014 at Guildhall Library reading the great man’s first five sonnets and he gave a wonderful performance of Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech from Julius Ceasar in The Guardian‘s Shakespeare Solos in 2016. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Romeo & Juliet *UPDATED*”
While Opportunity Zone as a golden opportunity of tax breaks for the rich stays at the heart of the story, all kinds of opportunities – pursued, missed, noticed, favorable, fitting, promising, unique, rare, ample – abound in this week’s episode! Oh, and I think love is in the air for some!
The Bobby Axelrod that I came to like – the boy who grew up in Yonkers and beat the odds to become the billionaire that he is today – makes an appearance in the first few minutes of the episode… Continue reading “Billions on Showtime Season 5 Episode 4: Opportunity Zone”