English actor and producer Damian Lewis was born on February 11, 1971 in St. John's Wood, London to a family from Wales. He was educated at Eton College and graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993. Shortly thereafter he became a stage actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company where he appeared in productions like Little Eyolf, Cymbeline and Pillars of the Community. He was discovered by Steven Spielberg while he was performing in a production of Hamlet with Ralph Fiennes. Spielberg then cast Lewis for a role of Richard Winters in the World War 2 miniseries Band of Brothers. This required him to have a credible American accent, which he pulled off.
Damian Lewis also got the role of Soames Forsyte in the ITV series, The Forsyte Saga, earning positive reviews that soon got him more exposure in the US. He was soon given a role in Dreamcatcher, based on the work of Stephen King. Even though the film performed poorly at the box office, Lewis received critical applause for his performance. He also became known for playing Jeffrey Archer in the TV special Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. His film appearances include those in BBC's Much Ado About Nothing and Stormbreaker, as the lead role Yassen Gregorovich. In 2006, he appeared in the BBC drama Friends and Crocodiles, by Stephen Poliakoff. That year, Lewis became a trade justice ambassador for Christian Aid, one of the UK's oldest charities. He has also participated in Soccer Aid, playing for England in May while playing golf for Europe during the All*Star Cup. Later in 2006, he became the guest host of BBC’s Have I Got News for You. The actor continued his impressive career by taking on the lead on the NBC series Life, playing the cop Charlie Crews, who has a tainted reputation. The show premiered in 2007, and Lewis followed this up with a major part in The Baker, directed by his brother, Gareth Lewis. He soon found himself in the supporting role of Rizza in 2008’s The Escapist, a movie he also helped produce.
(Photo courtesy of NBC)