By Christina Radish
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Damian Lewis at the premiere of The Hulk held at Universal City Cinemas in Universal City, Calif. on June 17, 2003.
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Twelve years of police detective Charlie Crews’ (Damian Lewis) life were taken away from him, when he was wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Back on the street, the complex, offbeat cop goes back to his old job, thanks to close friend and attorney Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton), although he’s just been awarded millions of dollars to compensate for being falsely imprisoned. With a skeptical, demanding new partner (Sarah Shahi), a hard-hitting lieutenant (Robin Weigart) and a former cellmate (Adam Arkin) keeping an eye on him, Crews must learn to re-establish his life on the outside, while trying to solve the biggest crime of his career -- his own.
Damian Lewis, star of NBC’s new drama Life, talks to MediaBlvd Magazine, along with executive producer/writer Rand Ravich, about getting inside the mind of such an intense character.
MediaBlvd Magazine> What is the genesis of this show, and how did Damian come to be cast?
Rand Ravich> The genesis of the show is that I’ve always been wildly interested in police shows. I even did a police pilot for NBC, a couple years ago, that was a period piece. So, I’ve done a lot of police research. And, this season, when I was thinking about a pilot, I really wanted to start with the character, and I found this character of Charlie Crews, a man who is getting a second chance in life, after being falsely accused. He has spent 12 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, but instead of it breaking him, and instead of it being dark and dour and depressing, it made him very aware of how precious life is. This was a chance to have a show that exists in some light instead of darkness, given the back story. And, I’ve just always been a huge fan of Damian. When I was finished writing it, I thought of him for the part, and I was lucky enough to get him, when he was willing to come over here and do American television.
Damian Lewis> The genesis of it, for me, started with a phone call. It was very tempting from the outset because of the strength of the script. As an actor, that’s the only place you can ever start from. It’s a big commitment, signing up for an American network TV show, but I felt very comfortable doing it because I enjoyed the script so much. The character is a wonderful character. There’s a little bit of wish fulfillment and fantasy in there. We join the character after this horrible central incident in his life, at a time when he is reborn, liberated and freed from his previous life. That gives you tremendous scope. And, with the tremendous joy and optimism, I thought that this was a new take on a cop show. So, I was all too happy to jump on.
Rand> Damian has the unique ability, which I’d wanted in this character, to be a tough guy because of his time in prison, having seen really serious things, but also not being afraid to be warm and open. I really want those two sides in the character, and in the stories he embraces. It was very difficult to find an actor capable of that, and Damian has the ability to embrace both those parts of his personality.
MediaBlvd> Damian, how did you became an actor? What made you fall in love with it? Was it an accident, or was it something you had always wanted to do?
Damian> I was acting at school. I loved doing it at school. I went to what you would consider a slightly antiquated and quaint little English boarding school that was slightly Dickensian in its outlook. It was about 1980, and they used to put on a Gilbert & Sullivan musical every year. I was singing in Gilbert & Sullivan musicals for four or five years, and I loved it. And then, when I was about 16, at my secondary school, some friends and I set up a little theater company and put on a show. And, I went to drama school. We have a more comprehensive system of drama schools at home. They are now full-degree courses, but there weren’t back then. I did three years there and came out, and was lucky enough just to get going straightaway. I got an agent, and then I was doing classical theater. I worked in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and on Broadway. And then, in terms of anyone having any kind of idea of who I am, it really happened with Band of Brothers in 2001. And, I’ve been doing TV, film, theater and radio, mixing it up, ever since then.
MediaBlvd> What do you bring to this role, and what is your relationship with the writers?
Damian> I have a very confused and complex psyche, as a result of some strange and extraordinarily profound events in my early childhood, which I can’t go into now. But, I hope I bring some craft, which I’ve learned along the way; and a little bit of instinct. It’s fantastic. It’s actually a really great privilege to have the creator and the producer of the show be the writer as well. As an actor, you often want to get access to the writers. With no disrespect to directors and/or producers, it’s often the quickest and most direct way to get information about the script. So, having Rand around daily, or on the other end of the phone, has made the whole job a lot easier, and has enabled me to access Charlie Crews that much quicker. We have a really good relationship, and it’s in both of our interests to maintain that. The other day, we were talking about the symbiotic relationship of writer and actor, over the course of a TV series, because I think you both find the character with each other, and each one of you informs the other person. It goes hand and glove. One can’t work without the other. So, I suppose, if the relationship is not functioning well, that could be a hindrance. But, if it does work well, then hopefully it broadens your bases with which to work from, and it enriches the process. Rand and I have that, and that’s actually what’s tremendously exciting about going forward, where we’re heading now. Neither of us fully know the full potential of that. Rand is probably at least steps ahead of me, at this point.
MediaBlvd> Damian, this character gives you something that no character’s had since Dr. House, which is the freedom to do whatever he wants to, and to be uncensored. House gets away with it because he’s so good at what he does, and Charlie Crews gets away with it because he’s been so mistreated. Does that give you real freedom to play with this character and really make him as eccentric as you want him to be?
Damian> Yes, although there are pretty rigid parameters in there, as well. He’s not an anarchist. One of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, when people come back from war zones, is that they have this sense of ownership that they can behave however they want. No one has seen what they’ve seen and, therefore, they can behave as anarchically and as violently as they want, and they cause a lot of distress. He’s a remarkable character because he’s managing, although he is seeking a revenge, of sorts. We don’t know how that will exact itself, but he wants to know what happened. His life view is so optimistic. He’s so generous and so giving. He’s so full of joy. He’s so quick to see the joy, in each moment. He wants to intensely live his life, moment-to-moment, and get the most from it. He’s desperately trying to claw back those 12 years. If this was another type of show, he could be destructive, but he isn’t. It’s important to remember that he came back on the force to get himself closer to the conspiracy, and be close to his enemies, but he also loves being a cop. It’s what he always wanted to do. Before he went to prison, he was an Average Joe who just would’ve been there for 25-30 years, and then, get his pension. He’s someone who’s been radically altered by his experience, so he comes back on the force to be a cop because he enjoys the working day. He enjoys the structure that it gives him. In playing him, those choices have to be made. It’s a fine line. He can’t just be wild and crazy, for the sake of being wild and crazy, because that would be uninteresting, over a period of time. The one thing that the Charlie Crews character has, as far as being unrestricted, is that he’s been through enough that he realizes when it’s going to defy his social conventions to say something that will make you feel better, or to say something to get to the truth. So often, we go through the day and we’re not honest with the people right next to us because of social convention. The experiences he’s had have ripped that filter away, and what he desperately needs is to get close to other human beings. He will say the honest thing, if it’s going to help, or if it’s going to get to the truth. As far as being unhindered, and as far as the LAPD is concerned about him, he does not have a get-out-of-jail-free card. They are watching him more carefully because they would like nothing more than to get him back off the force because he’s back to make trouble. So, even though he is somewhat unbridled and unhinged by his experience, and looking for the joy, he does have to walk the line very carefully because the LAPD wants him out.
MediaBlvd> What are your expectations for this season, in terms of the competition you’re facing?
Rand> We’re just writing our show. I saw the pilot for Dirty Sexy Money, and I thought it was good. It was a beautiful-looking show. But, this is a show of a different order. That show is a sprawling canvas. Our show is very much about one man’s rebirth and re-entry into the world. It is taking up so much of my time to explore that, that I honestly haven’t given much thought to the time slot. We’re just making our show, and I hope it will find an audience. We’re writing the type of show that we like to watch and, hopefully, other people will want to watch as well.
MediaBlvd> If you look at the general trends on television right now, there’s only one show in the top 20 that revolves around one central actor. So, how do you feel about putting on a show that is absolutely dependent on Damian, and does that limit you, storyline-wise?
Rand> It’s easier for the writing, but it’s harder for the actor. This character came to me so clearly, in one moment. I had been doing all this research about witness protection, prison and cops, and the character of Charlie Crews just came to me, fully formed. It is very easy for me to write him because he is my point of view, and my entry point into the world. As far as telling stories, I find those pretty interesting, and easy, to get into. As far as the workload on Damian, I think it’s a lot to be a single lead in an American television show. It’s a tremendous amount of work. It’s a blessing and a curse.
MediaBlvd> Damian, how do you feel about your performance being the make or break aspect of this show?
Damian> It keeps my enormous and very fragile ego in check, for a period of time, which is nice. It’s every actor’s dream to be offered a role of this magnitude and size, but there is also the responsibility that comes with it. So, the simple answer is that I love it. The more complex answer is that yes, it’s exhausting, and yes, the hours are long, and that can create problems within the production. Just how the hell do you keep your lead actor going? You want him on screen, but you don’t want to kill him, or her, in the process. In terms of maintaining an audiences’ interest in one person, there are many examples, over the course of time, where there’s been a single lead that people fall in love with, from Rockford to Kojak to Magnum to House.
Rand> I think the secret to those shows, which I hope is the same with our show, is that each week, they tell a close-ended story. I love those ensemble shows, but those are much more sprawling. The beauty of a show with a single-entry point character is that you find a story each week, and you tell a little play. You tell the whole story, with the beginning, middle and end, and that becomes the world for your 42 minutes and 24 seconds.
Damian> Often, with what you might consider a conventional procedural, there’s not much of another story going on. It’s not particularly compelling. It’s very satisfying to have a crime solved each week, and seeing it done well. That’s fun. I know I enjoy that, as a viewer, and wondering who did it and why they did it. But, the bigger and further-reaching story is the more personal story that centers around Crews, and this conspiracy story. That’s the grown-up section of this show. I would come back each week to find out how his investigation into the biggest crime of his life, which is him, plays out. That’s the biggest case he has going. It’s his own case, and he wants to know what the hell happened?
MediaBlvd> A lot of actors who play cops do research by shadowing their real-life counterparts. But, with as unconventional as Charlie and his tactics are, is it even be useful to learn the proper way that policemen work?
Damian> You can never do enough research. It’s often a question of time and accessibility, and access to the LAPD and its divisions. For example, getting ride-alongs with cops, as they’re out on patrol, has been quite hard to do because the LAPD has stopped offering that as much, for various political reasons. But, in terms of other stuff, there was research into the Zen Buddhism philosophy that was very helpful for this, and research into what it’s like to be in a maximum security prison. I went about it the same way I always go about researching any role, which is through literature, videotape, documentary footage and interviews with people who might have had some experience there. Research is always important. I enjoy that aspect of it, so I always do it.
Rand> And, we always ask our technical advisors what would the cops would really do, and then we decide whether we will stay true to that, or twist it for emotional reasons. We always want to know how it really happens, but if we can get more emotional satisfaction by bending it slightly, we usually go that way.
MediaBlvd> Did you do any research on police jargon, or anything like that, so that you could sound like a real police officer?
Damian> Yes, but of course you can only sound as much like a police officer as the script will allow you. This is not a documentary piece. This is a drama with great chunks of comedy in it, and it should be entertaining. When there is an option to go to the heart of the emotion of a story that week, then that option is taken, and anything that is procedural and documentary in style, will be put to one side, at that point. When I’m on set, I speak in an American accent, all day. I just stay there. It’s easier for me. It keeps me closer to the character. One of our prop guys was a Sheriff in Kern County, and he flew helicopters for a long time. I speak a lot with him, daily. And, we have a technical advisor, who I speak with him daily. When the SWAT team guys come on for scenes, they’re all retired officers, and I speak to them. You up against them and just hope some of it rubs off on you. That is often the best way of doing it. You can read as much as you want, and you can watch as much documentary footage as you want, but just standing in front of a guy who’s done it is always the most helpful.
MediaBlvd> How do you see the dynamic shaping up between Charlie and Dani (Sarah Shahi), and Charlie and Constance (Brooke Langton) this season?
Damian> At the outset, at least, Dani Reese is a by-the-book cop. She has her own particular story, and her own secret. She’s recovering from an addiction or two that she suffers from, and she’s been put down to the bottom of the ladder, and she has to go by the book. She has to be seen to be doing everything perfectly. She has to be whiter than white. And then, she’s thrown together with this guy who’s a bit of a maverick and an eccentric. He’s had an experience that no one in her life, that she’s come across before, has had, and he throws her curveball after curveball. So, the have a combative relationship to start with, but they find a mutual respect for one another. They both do their police work and, through that, a friendship is burgeoning. That can take you into interesting places. We’ll have to see what happens there. His relationship with Constance Griffiths is really one which is far more idealized. She is, in some ways, a saving angel to him, and I think he loves her very deeply. But, they honor their relationship in a rather old-fashioned and noble way. The friendship is too precious to ruin.
Rand> To me, the most interesting part about the Constance-Charlie relationship is that she had him all to herself, during those years in prison, when she was his conduit to the real world. She was the only part of life that he saw. And, now that he’s out and learning to walk, the relationship will be changing. He’s not all hers anymore. He belongs to the world and he’s rediscovering himself. And so, it is a relationship that was forged in prison as very intimate, with just the two of them, but now it’s changing. Every day Charlie spends in the world, their relationship will change because of it. And, the most interesting part about writing that relationship is that it is in motion. It’s not stagnant.
MediaBlvd> Rand, Charlie’s obsession with fruit is one of his most endearing qualities. Where did that idea come from?
Rand> Mostly, it came from a lot of research about prison, and about what you don’t get in prison. We all know what you don’t get in prison. But, reading a lot of biographies, a lot of the prisoners miss fresh fruit because what you end up getting is a lot of army surplus fish heads and Spam. And, I thought that was such a beautiful symbol for the juice and vitality of the natural world that he was deprived from, unjustly, for all those years. He was hungry for it all those years and his appetite for that sweet, juicy fruit of life is still in evidence, as the series begins. He cannot get enough. And, I like fruit.
MediaBlvd> What made you chose to come to the American market in a television series? Was it this script, or would you have been making this move, anyway?
Damian> I believe this is a creative and artistic endeavor. Would I have come out anyway? No. It’s a big commitment to say yes to a potentially long-running TV series. Ever since I did Band of Brothers, I’ve been on certain lists. I’ve never said yes to one of these things before because timing wasn’t right. But, I had also never read a script that grabbed me enough. This script was really good, and the role was really good, and I intuited as much as I could, in a few conversations with Rand and Far Shariat, his partner, about what kind of guys they were. I’m sure they would tell you the same thing. As best you can, you make an instinctive decision, based on a few conversations and a few meetings. And, I just thought Rand and Far were my kind of people, and that they were truly artistic and creative, and they’re going to continue to be as creative and artistic as they’re allowed to be, in the American market. I’ve been dipping in and out of the American market, in films and TV, for the last five or six years. It’s just that nothing has landed in quite the same way that Band of Brothers landed. I hope Life does the same thing.
MediaBlvd> Rand, far as the conspiracy theory goes, are we going to get a lot of answers this year, or is that going to be one of those things that’s dragged out, over the course of the series?
Rand> You’ll get some answers. The show that we like is 24, which is a long-running show, but gives you emotional closure. Every few episodes, you get a piece of information that’s very helpful. And, the shows that the writers and I are not particularly fond of are shows where you feel like you’re wandering in the desert. While this is not a serialized show, this is a close-ended episodic television show, which will tell a complete story every week. The conspiracy is Charlie’s biggest case -- what happened to him -- and we will get definite answers, on a timely basis, because those are the kind of shows I would rather watch.
