Interview: Damian Lewis

I was fortunate enough to secure an interview with actor Damian Lewis for my student newspaper. This is the result:

A household name both sides of the Atlantic, Damian Lewis came to international prominence starring in Band of Brothers, furthering his reputation in The Forsyte Saga, Life and numerous stage plays. A consummate actor of theatre, film and television, his recent triumph in Homeland won him a Golden Globe and an Emmy. I tried to uncover a few pearls of wisdom from the most exciting British actor of the moment.

For many people staring nervously into the precipice of recession unemployment, Damian Lewis’ characters seem unrealistically cool and successful. Decisive and worldly, these soldiers, cops, business executives and assassins don’t rely on others. I asked him what advice he would offer graduates making their way in the world. But his own life wisdom is refreshingly clear. ‘Work hard, play hard,’ he summarises deftly. ‘Understand what makes you happy and do it.’ Such an approach has clearly served him well: he has dined with the U.S. President and been directed by Steven Spielberg. But his drive is evident. ‘I still think I'm trying to make it. A bit like chasing one's tail. Not healthy, but part of the condition.’ Modest, certainly, but that attitude betrays the aspirations of a winner. I suspect that he does not consider sitting on his laurels to be a viable option. If he retired from acting today, he said that his dream job would be teaching. Luckily, he would retain an audience.

Rest assured, even someone as successful as Damian Lewis can encounter bumps on the road. ‘The cold sweat you get on stage the moment you know you have absolutely no idea what to say next haunts me in my dreams,’ he observes. Famously, his eyebrow was slashed open by Ralph Fiennes during a performance of Hamlet. Pretty awkward, but dramatic at least. ‘Worst moment though was when I was at The R.S.C. and heard my cue over the tannoy system. I was still in my dressing room 4 floors up and quite literally skidded to a halt at the end of my hysterical dash on to the stage. The other actors were pacing up and down. If looks could kill...’ As a notorious master of accents, perhaps mimicry is effortless. I wondered if there was any accent he had struggled to perfect. ‘I played football with Paul Gascoigne for a week and spent every moment I wasn't with him trying to be him. I sounded mad. But then so does he. That was Geordie.’ I guess he won’t be adding The Pitmen Painters to his C.V. any time soon.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that to reach the top of your game you must be an arrogant prima donna. In order to prepare for a role, Damian Lewis declares that he has ‘no rituals. Just quiet time on my own when I need it.’ Neither does fame seem to have gone to his head. I am confident that he keeps Balotelli-style antics to a minimum, but surely, I joked, there are some inescapable consequences? ‘I haven't burnt anyone's house down if that's what you mean...’ That fame has not created a pyromaniac is certainly reassuring for his neighbours. Indeed, the single role from cinematic history which he would most like to have played is reassuringly respectful to an historic masterpiece of acting: ‘Ben Braddock in The Graduate.’

Homeland might be Damian Lewis’ biggest success to date, and certainly is in terms of awards. The tense storylines leave many viewers desperate to uncover what happens next. Does he tell anyone what happens before it airs? ‘My wife. Leave her alone.’ You heard him.

Despite a significant number of interviews, there is never a great deal of personal information about the avid Liverpool F.C. fan in the press. I wondered if he draws on this ability to play his cards close to his chest when portraying the mercurial Sergeant Brody. ‘Brody doesn't know who he is anymore. He's become a kind of sociopath, extremely adept at compartmentalising. Every actor needs a bit of this.’ Homeland flags some contemporary political issues, such as nationalism, power relations and the nature of war. Does its leading man think that mass entertainment can convey serious political messages? ‘Yes I do. Especially in long form drama.’

Acting aside, his performances in charity football match Soccer Aid proved solid. When I asked him which celebrity he considers to have been the worst player, he named Alastair Campbell. It just goes to show: follow Damian Lewis’ example, and you too could outplay the most powerful opponent.

I rounded off with some quickfire questions:

Beethoven or The Beatles? Depends on my mood.

Pint or champagne? Pint.

Shankly or Paisley? Paisley.

L.A. or London? London.

Silver-screen or modern blockbuster? Silver screen.

The full publication can be found here: http://www.epigram.org.uk/2013/05/damian-lewis-im-still-trying-to-make-it/

Review: The Great Gatsby

Rarely is a film anticipated with so much dread, debated with so much fear and loathing, than this adaptation of The Great Gatsby. In our world of constant online criticism and faceless sniping, it seemed as if millions were at pains to show their literary appreciation by preemptively crushing the efforts of Baz Lurhmann. As a fan of the novel, and of Fitzgerald's greater canon, I attempted to watch with an open mind. There were admittedly many potential faults: 3-D, switching a masterpiece into another art form, the modern soundtrack. My gravest concern was that it would be a triumph of style over substance: a meretricious focus on the decadence of Jazz Age parties. The whole genius of the story is that there are so many themes, so many observations about the world, society and emotion. The time and place in which it is set are important only in the fact that they join these strands together in a way that few historical moments have. I believe that capturing the underlying themes was going to be the most important aspect, and the inevitable cinematographic barrage of lavish aesthetics should follow behind.

For me, this was achieved. Doomed love, tragic attempts at replaying the past, the hubristic bubble of moneyed frivolity standing at the precipice of the Depression, social change and identity were all present in the film as they were in the novel. Perhaps the love between Daisy and Gatsby was over-egged. I read that Luhrmann described it as primarily a love story, and thus other relationships were downplayed. Not many integral elements were slashed, no section suffered, and the pace was retained throughout the two and a half hours.

With these bits captured, the aesthetics could be enjoyed. Luhrmann's film is sickeningly stylish, every moment of swirling inebriation and quixotic love heightened through cinematography. Every shot was a high definition painting, the clothes and scenery all mind-blowing. The most striking visual images of the book are present: shirt throwing, green lights and oculist  eyes. The soundtrack ultimately worked: no single song ever seemed to be played, it was just a stream of diverse tunes. Lurhmann correctly identified the need to use some modern sounds, because if a principal job of music in film is to stir emotion, then a few Charleston numbers weren't going to do the trick in 2013. The 3-D was kind of pointless, as the technology remains a gimic: it's barely even 3-dimensional, there are just a few different layers on-screen, like cardboard cutouts. Basically, it was filmed in a fashion that brought home the nauseousness of twenties New York.

The cast was excellent, although in pretty much the same way that it was in the 1974 version. Leonardo DiCaprio was born for the role of Jay Gatsby: the criticism that he's forever playing brooding geniuses weighed down by life is ironically a main point for praise in this work. Tobey Maguire captures Nick Carroway's polite affability and impartial observation. His narration is pleasingly similar to that of the novel, using all the best quotations, and adding in new ones that Fitzgerald himself could easily have penned. Carey Mulligan likewise portrays Daisy's personality well: tragically shallow but with intense emotional depth, plus Mulligan creates a greater chemistry with her Gatsby than Farrow and Redford managed in '74. Again, Joel Edgerton's Tom Buchanan was as similar to the literary character as anyone could have hoped, funneling his arrogant menace into a hurricane of chauvinistic brutality. Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson and Meyer Wolfsheim... same thing, all as perfectly similar to Fitzgerald's creations as I could imagine. Amitabh Bachchan managed to elevate the character of Wolfsheim into a convincing gangster, not a jolly gentleman who dabbled in World Series. Good acting all round.

So I thought that this was a triumph. The main problem is that The Great Gatsby is such a good book: translating it into other media will always result in changes, and literary elements being lost. It was a great film and a skilled adaptation, but it will remain an adaptation: the novel still reigns supreme in Gatsby franchise. 

Review: Trance

Art auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) is selling a painting when the work is seized in an armed robbery, and in the ensuing chaos Simon is hit hard by gaudy Gallic gang-leader Franck (Vincent Cassel). It turns out that Simon was in on the whole thing to clear his uncontrollable gambling debt (get a grip), but hid the painting and the concussion has rendered this memory lost. So the bad guys, after a healthy dose of fingernail torture, turn to hypnotist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to extract the whereabouts of their precious loot. Cue twists and turns as the memory is forced out, along with a whole host of other things, and the characters all plot against each other. If I say anything more I'll give stuff away. 

One article in The Guardian lays into the psychotherapy aspect a bit, but really, it's a film. Danny Boyle has released Trance, not A Complete and Accurate Guide to Psychotherapy and the Scheming so-and-sos Who Practise It. No, many people's problem with Trance will likely be that they are confused: it seems overly complicated- Hitchcock directs Fear and Loathing. But that's kind of the point. I think that Boyle is purposefully bedazzling his audience with camera tricks, split screens, several scenes interspersed, a non-linear time frame and a snakily winding plot. He is like a magician, muddling a piece of string into a ball before, with one swift movement, straightening it out in a now-obvious fashion. So don't be too put off by the twisting events and turns, just allow yourself to fall into the haze and trust that all will be clear at the end.

One of the central themes is who is in control: is it the gangsters? They are physically in control. Is the auction worker? He is in control materially (of the painting) and in control of the memory of its location. Is the hypnotist? She is in control mentally, because it is she that instructs the patients when under her spell. They are all masters of their fate in some realm, but in others completely passive. My problem is that the one woman is only decisive in a Machiavellian and secretive way- she operates in constant fear of her power being exposed. So although she has a profound hold over the thugs, her nefarious scheming still plays second fiddle to the dominance of the patriarchy.

The acting is quite good, although personally Cassel was the only stand-out. He's good at playing snivelly bad guys, his beady eyes peering over his turned-up Roman nose. He sneered his way through Mesrine (both parts), Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen and Black Swan, and he sneers his way through this.

Trance is certainly not director Danny Boyle's finest work: Slumdog Millionaire or Trainspotting (and the Olympic opening ceremony if you count that) might be. But it's incredibly stylish, entertaining, and most of the plot turns are unforeseeable. So, a genuine thriller if not a masterpiece.

Not quite the Mona Lisa