Damian Lewis is an English actor of Welsh descent best known for his roles as Major Richard Winters in HBO`s TV miniseries Band of Brothers[1], as Soames Forsyte the ITV miniseries The Forsyte Saga, and as Det. Charlie Crews in the NBC series Life.

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 has 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 miniseries Band of Brothers.

Subsequently, Lewis has played Soames Forsyte in the ITV series, The Forsyte Saga (later shown as a Masterpiece Theatre miniseries). 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, he was guest host on BBC`s Have I Got News For You.

In 2007, Lewis stars 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.

Personal Quote:

If one of your fantasies is lying on a bed in Hollywood, surrounded by eight naked women, then another is to have a beautiful wife and a nice rambling house in London with three kids running around... perhaps it`s good to have a bit of tension in your fantasy life.

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