Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his ‘noisy family’ and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

As I delve into the captivating narrative of Damian Lewis, I can’t help but marvel at his remarkable journey and resilience. The octopus tale is a testament to his unwavering determination – boiling it down, steaming it up, and handling its many legs, just as he does with life’s challenges. His family dynamic, much like the boisterous chatter of a bustling kitchen, mirrors the cacophony of voices in a thriving household – each vying to make their point, yet finding harmony in the chaos.


Damian Lewis openly discusses a parental decision he believes was a misstep, offering insights into the lively dynamics of his family household.

In a revealing chat, the 53-year-old actor shared insights into his personal family matters during an episode of the podcast Dish, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Harnett.

Actor from “Homeland” has two children, Manon (age 18) and Gulliver (age 16), who he shared with the late actress Helen McCrory.

And Damianrevealed what the trio’s dynamic is like at home. 

As a lifestyle expert, I’d like to share an intriguing tidbit from my personal life: despite maintaining a harmonious relationship with my daughter and me, I’ve been restricted from preparing meals for her.

Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory
Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

He also revealed the one mistake he made that lead him to tackle a whole octopus in the kitchen.

The actor from Wolf Hall mentioned: “Indeed, I do enjoy cooking. However, my daughter now prefers to prepare meals for herself instead.

She follows a vegetarian diet and has grown quite specific about her cooking methods. I recently purchased an air fryer for her.

Despite the fact that his oldest child, Manon, follows a vegetarian lifestyle, it’s worth noting that he himself isn’t particularly fond of vegetarian cuisine.

He admitted that his vegetarian cooking skills are not the best. If Manon allows him to cook something for her, it’s likely that it would be a large bell pepper stuffed with some filling.

We might do a vegetarian chilli to go in it. So it’s quite basic’.

Damian also elaborated on a mistake he made when his children were little.

Instead, he stated: “Early on with our children, we didn’t consistently feed them only canned beans when they were hungry, which turned out to be a good decision since it wasn’t a mistake and provided variety in their diet.

Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory
Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory
Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

Indeed, they constantly attempt to eat grown-up meals, but surprisingly, my two exceptionally young, well-off children from North London have acquired a preference for food from Carluccio’s. In fact, they seem to favor only the dishes served at this particular restaurant.

In other words, we were unable to proceed beyond Carluccio’s without encountering a rather precocious five-year-old saying something like, “Car, car. Daddy, can we enter and have octopus for dinner?

So then I decided, sod that I’m going to cook an octopus myself. And it was terrible.

Here’s my attempt at paraphrasing: ‘I decided to dehydrate a whole octopus just now. I told them, “I’d like to handle this myself. Let me cut it up, form it into rings, and complete the process from start to finish.”‘

I simmered it with salt, shallots, and either white wine or white wine vinegar. I partially cooked it by boiling and steaming it simultaneously…

‘That’s what it was. It was a drowning octopus. There were a lot of legs.’ .

Additionally, the star shared with both the disc jockey and the renowned chef that his household environment tends to be lively and boisterous, with numerous individuals frequently speaking at once.

Absolutely, it would often result in many individuals speaking without heeding others, yes. Our environment was generally one that strongly promoted expressing our own opinions.

Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory
Damian Lewis shares rare glimpse into life with his 'noisy family' and the one mistake he made three years after the tragic death of his wife Helen McCrory

As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but exclaim over this fascinating dynamic I’ve noticed: ‘It’s like we’re surrounded by folks who are constantly trying to drive home their views, yet no one seems to be taking the time to truly listen, as they’re all engrossed in voicing their own opinions!’ This insight comes from none other than the captivating Band of Brothers actor himself.

In a playful manner, I jest, “Yet, many of our beloved companions excel at lending an ear, making them perfect guests for our social soirees. Their role? Simply to grace us with their presence, to be silent and absorb the conversations unfolding.

In April 2021, at the age of 52, actress Helen from Peaky Blinders passed away due to breast cancer. She chose to conceal her illness while still actively working.

At the time Damian admitted he felt ‘physically drained’ after Helen’s death.

The actor openly discussed feeling drained for several months following the death of his wife, Helen, from cancer in April 2021.

After dedicating all his efforts towards living a fulfilling life alongside Helen, he confessed that her untimely death left him drained and exhausted.

He told The Guardian: ‘For four or five months, you’re physically drained. Helen was ill for four and a half years.

‘They say that the first day of diagnosis of an illness that could be terminal is the first day of your grief.’

As a lifestyle enthusiast, I’ve been following the journey of this talented artist, who is currently on tour promoting their new album. Recently, I caught them discussing the creative process behind the album on This Morning, offering insights into their personal approach to songwriting and the inspiration behind their work.

When asked by host Cat Deeley about his songwriting process, he responded: “Every song I’ve written ended up on an album. Writing ten songs was challenging enough for me.

‘I Iooked at some of my old songs and they were so terrible!’

Damian went on to say: “However, I found myself at ease with the concept of Mission Creep. Some tracks on it are deeply personal and reveal aspects of my life after losing my wife, Helen.

In the TV series “Billions,” Damian Lewis (the main character) and Helen have two children: a 16-year-old daughter named Manon and a 15-year-old son called Gulliver. Notably, these youngsters have been understanding and supportive of their father’s choice to take a break from acting and focus on his music career.

He explained: ‘They’re being really sweet about it and they are actually really talented musicians themselves.

It’s somewhat frustrating for me when your father engages in music, which happens to be something I aspire to do myself. However, given their superior talent compared to mine, I’ve encouraged them to continue pursuing it.

‘There isn’t a chance in hell they will ever [perform] with me.’

Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers. 

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2024-10-17 03:14

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