Bio
Damian Lewis is an English actor best known for his starring role as Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the political thriller television series Homeland, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
He was previously best known for his television roles as Major Richard D. Winters in the mini-series Band of Brothers (2001), as Soames Forsyte in the mini-series The Forsyte Saga (2002), and as Det. Charlie Crews in the drama series Life, from 2007-2009.
Lewis made several visits to the United States to visit relatives during his summers as a child.
He was educated at Ashdown House and Eton College and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, after which he served as a stage actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
During his time with the RSC, he played Borgheim in Adrian Noble's production of Ibsen's Little Eyolf, as well as Posthumus in Shakespeare's Cymbeline. He also starred in another of Ibsen's plays, Pillars of the Community.
Lewis also appeared in Sam Mendes' production of Hamlet, playing Laertes opposite Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet. This production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who subsequently cast Lewis as Richard Winters in the HBO/BBC World War II mini-series Band of Brothers, his first role of several that required a credible American accent.
Subsequently, Lewis has played Soames Forsyte in the ITV series The Forsyte Saga — which earned him rave reviews and further exposed him to a US audience.
He returned stateside to star in Dreamcatcher, a Stephen King film about a man who becomes possessed by an evil alien. The character is American but when possessed he takes on a British accent, thus requiring Lewis to toggle between the two.
On the heels of this role, he starred in Keane as a Manhattanite with a fragile mental state who is searching for his missing daughter. Despite the film's poor box-office performance, the role won Lewis rave reviews.
He played Jeffrey Archer in the satirical TV special Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. Since 2004 he has appeared in a number of films, as well as the 2005 BBC TV adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing, as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told season.
Lewis played the role of Yassen Gregorovich in the film Stormbreaker.
In February 2006, he became a trade justice ambassador for Christian Aid, a UK charity.
In 2006 he also appeared in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC drama Friends and Crocodiles. Also in 2006, he was a player for England in Soccer Aid in late May, and golfed for Europe in the All*Star Cup, in late August, both shown on ITV.
On 10 November 2006, guest hosted on BBC's Have I Got News For You.
In 2007, Lewis starred as the main character in the U.S. television series Life on NBC. He stars as a police officer framed for murder and held in prison for 12 years from 1995 to 2007, before being exonerated.
The show premiered in the US on September 26, 2007 and in South Africa on 27 March, 2008.
He appears in the lead role in a film entitled The Baker, directed by his brother, Gareth Lewis.
He married actress Helen McCrory on 4 July 2007 and have a daughter, Manon (born September 2006), and a son, Gulliver (born November 2007).
In 2015 he had a starring role in the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall, which earned him a third Emmy nomination.