Test Match Special - #40from40: Damian Lewis

Episode Date: December 17, 2020

Actor Damian Lewis is plucked from his seat in the stands at Lord's to visit the TMS commentary box for a chat with Jonathan Agnew in 2013.

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podcast, classic view from the boundary. Hello, welcome to the Test Match Special podcast. This is Jonathan Agnew. As you go through our archive of classic view from the boundary interviews, we're not only reminded of the conversations themselves, but also how the guests came to be on the program. Sometimes it's months of planning with agents and managers. Sometimes we're getting touch on social media. Just occasionally, though, we'll spot a familiar face in the crowd and approach them in their seat to see if they fancy a trip to the commentary box. Well, one example was during the Lord's Test between England and New Zealand in 2013.

Well, a member of the production team spotted the Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damien Lewis in the queue for a coffee by the nursery ground. We popped along to see if he had come for a chat. And half an hour later, the star of Homeland and Band of Brothers was with me in the commentary box. Hello, Agas. Great to see you. Well, thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be up here.

Something of an ambition of mine, actually. Has it? Yeah, I was just talking to my friend Bradley Adams, silly. He said, have you ever been on TMS? I said, well, I would love to. And 30 seconds later, one of your team came and sat next to me and said, do you want to come on TMS? We only employ the best here, you know.

Should I be searching you? I mean, sort of sweeping the commentary box or anything. I don't worry. My vest was removed at the East Gates on the way in. Don't worry. So we're all okay. You must have all sorts of tedious stuff like that thrown out. I mean, what's it like, I mean, sitting in a,

are you just an empty stand, I mean, people must be recognizing you who you are and so on. Yeah, there have quite a lot of photograph taking. It's nice. It's nice. It's nice before tea. The final session, it gets a little bit more rowdy. A bit boisterous. Yeah. But this is an amazing view.

I'm just saying to the team up here, it feels like you can touch the players from here. I want to sort of reach down and pick them up. It's extraordinary this view. Well, we're very lucky to work out. It's easy to take for granted, if I're honest. I mean, you know, to come and work here every day. How often do you get here? I get, you know, I'm a sort of two-day.

year. You know, I try to get to the Lord's test. You know, I apply for tickets like everyone else. Yes. And I've had two lovely days in the upper Redridge stand. Thank you very much. Got a bit burnt yesterday. Did you? Well, I only has to get to 14 and that's, that puts me in a lot of trouble. I try to drop a bit of a hint that you're coming on, but I said I suspect us quietly. You admire Johnny Beirsto? I mean, is that a fair comment? Johnny Beirsto, you keep keeping the red-headed end up? Yes. Yes. Doing very well. Are you one of those a bit frustrated about the pace of the play or not? this but are you here yesterday i think it was it was attritional yesterday wasn't it was it was

um yeah the cricket was a little bit like elevator music yes slightly in the background do you mind it like that or are you a pucker cricket lover as it were i i love i love to listen to a bit of tms in my ear at the at the same time uh but it sees i'm not going to lie to you and goes it is an opportunity to meet up with friends as well yes and you've brought plenty in we have a comedy box full of friends was all over yes Charlie coming uh what do what I call you. John La Carray's air. Oh, really? Yeah, he's a famous thriller writer, Bradley Adams, producer, Thomas Ward, famous actor. Oh, you're all here, we're all here. I know, it's fantastic. It is great to see you.

So when the door starts off here, you're born near here, won't you? If I grew up, I grew up on, I grew up on Abbey Road. Yes. So Lord is always there, isn't it? I spent every Easter in the Nets here at the Lord's Indoor School, perfecting my off-drive. What sort of age was that, then? from 8 to 13 to 13 to sort of 1516. Really? Who would have been coaching you then? Gordon Jenkins, I would remember Gordon Jenkins. Yes, of course.

Got very excited about my offspin and tried to recruit me for Middlesex under 13s. And then I only bowled full tosses basically from that moment on. And so it was a brief glimpse of glory. Was it? But I was actually never that good, unfortunately. You're a middle sex man, presumably. I was too interested in the finish, the high left elbow. Oh, yeah.

Don't worry about actually connecting. Yes, the photographer's dream shot. Yes, exactly, exactly. So, I mean, you supported Middlesex, did it? You're a middle sex man? Yeah, I grew up supporting Middlesex and... I mean, Gus Fraser and... Absolutely.

So, you raised it back in the day. But you've gone back, so John Embry and Mike Brearley and... Yeah, grew up what... Yeah, exactly. grew up as a young kid watching the late 70s, early 80s cricket. Yeah, exactly. All that. Gat and Gower and Both, and, I mean, they weren't Middlesex, but, you know, well, Gat was, but, and then, you know, watching one of these great Ashes series and, you know, both in series, and we're just hearing Jeffrey talk about, you know, facing the four famous quickies, you know, who seemed to rotate.

There was always just one to come in and take that fourth birth for the West Indies, wasn't there, for a time there. And so, so, yeah, yeah. What's your first memory of watching cricket here then? if you were popping down here with you. My first memory, actually, well, one of my earliest memories was watching Both at the far end, there at the pavilion end, go onto one leg, go down on his knee, and sweep someone into the top stand of the grand stand

from a sweep. And I was so staggered by it. I was like 13 years old. I was like, how can anyone do that sort of on one knee? But he did. He just sweat. It was a sweep. he just swept it for six straight into this

straight into this tops down here, the grandstand. For someone over your age, you've seen him, he's only next door, you know. I'm all person. I've actually been on the golf course a little bit with Vorney and Sir Ian once or twice, but... I mean, he must have been, for someone of your age then, he must have been an absolute sporting icon,

wasn't he? I mean... Of course he was, and... I mean, I'm going back to the 80... What am I? I'm going to better get the date right? 83, 84, 81, it was 81, but... But just as, you know, just as much... of a star that summer was Bob Willis and that finals when he got 8 for 43 and remember him spaying Ray Bright Stumps for his the eighth wicket and it was just a great great thing for cricket isn't it and and you know both them was was just was just styling himself already at that point

as a legend and but Bob Willis was extraordinary yeah do you find even when you play you play golf with you know you so slightly in awe of him still now I mean it's a bit more portly these days and a very convivial company, of course. All these sportsmen, all of them. When you've played sport at a top level like that, you know, it might be 7.40, you know, in a charity event at Sunningdale, but if they don't win, it never goes away. So cricket for you, I mean, is it proper test cricket?

Is that what you prefer? Or, you know, do you follow 2020 and one-day-old-old-old? I do. I'm a traditionalist. I would sit in Geoffrey's camp, I think, yeah. Yeah, five-day cricket. And I love working in America and explain to them. We have a game that we play for five days. I was going to come on to this.

And no one might win at the end of it. How do you try and sell cricket to them? Or do you not even bother? You know, I just think cricket is something you need. You have to grow up with it. I think it needs to be in you. It's innately part of you in your experience of growing up. And then it all seems natural and a little eccentric at times and entirely British.

And I don't spend that long trying to explain to Americans. But do you listen or do you follow it? Have you got slingboxes and radios and that sort of? Are you that much of a fan that you, when you're over there, you try and keep in touch with it. Oh, I have it. I have it on. Yeah, have it on.

And, you know, I mean, you can do it all online now. It's extraordinary. Yes. So I'm not having to find you on shortwave anymore. You know. So that's quite good. Yeah. It must be, I mean, it's one of those things.

to be working as you are over there. How much time do you spend over there? Spend, uh, well, currently filming this series Homeland, I'm, I'm there five months of the year. I am. And, and sadly through the summer, which I was so excited. I thought, actually, I was going to be there already. But I applied for tickets for this test, being the first test of the summer. It's very excited.

You know, probably doesn't have the, well, it doesn't. Does it have the cachet of the ashes? Not quite. But, um, but nevertheless, I, then I found that I was going to be delayed, going to America. Then my tickets came through. And I thought, I can't believe I'm going to get two weeks, two days at Lords. I might stay here for two weeks. But I'll get two days of cricket.

And because I will probably miss most of the ashes because I'll be in North Carolina, you see, and I will be listening to your Dulcet times. Well, there'll be torture for you, though, won't it? It's hard. It's frustrating. It's frustrating. Well, you can picture us now, though. I know.

Hopefully not what the floodlights on. Now I know what the view's like from here. It's fantastic. Yeah. So do you take the whole life with you? And how do you go away for five months at a time? They shoot the whole... Yeah, you do.

You go away for five months. My family come out for the summer vacation, you know, she's an American word, for the two months of summer. And, yeah, it works. Because your wife's actually acting and working at the same... She's an actress and is filming today, in fact, somewhere with Kate Winslet,

give that little plug. Yeah. Film called Little Chaos, if anyone's interested in a single later in the year. Alan Rickman is directing that. How does that work to be both in the same family? I mean, are you, actually, you know, you get away from home, you just put the whole...

Pros and cons. It works very well because you have two people to understand what's needed and... But you do have to dovetail your work as much as you can. And are you... You've got other work outside, so you do have to juggle a bit. If you're going away for five months, that means you've got to come back

and actually be more of a home bird and do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially with a sort of a profile, though. I mean, I just do some very quick research on there's even pictures if you're having a bit of a pucker up at the awards of the day. You've seen to be an award season, by the way, at the moment, don't you? But even that, I mean, if you've got people following you around, do they follow you around or not?

I mean, whatever you do seems to be captured all that means. There's a bit of following going on. Yeah, well, I suppose, you know, you can always, you can always duck out, can't you? You can always, you can reject it all and decide that's not for you, that's not what you want, you know? Well, duck out of the whole career, you know? The whole thing, yeah, you could. You could choose to, but if you choose,

not to, I think you have to accept what comes with it. Yes. And a lot of the time it's enjoyable, and sometimes it isn't. But, you know, you chose it. Yes. And if you don't like it, then I suppose, you know, the cautionary tailors, be careful what you wish for. Yes. Do you feel you're on duty, though? It's like all the time. If you go to the test goes, you know, you're just going to get people wandering up and pestering or talking. You're all being very nice. Yeah.

Sometimes. Sometimes. People, people, well, it's odd. Well, I could ask, I mean, Tom's standing here right next to me. It was 10 years and silent witness. I mean, it's the same thing. People, I think if you're in people's sitting rooms that often and are become a sort of fixture and are in some way intriguing or are liked by people, they do take a sort of odd ownership of you. And that can happen. And they quite often don't draw the distinction between you as a person. who should be able to enjoy Tesco's or lords a day at lords and don't make the scenes between that and your character on the tellway.

Yes. So they, you know, in sometimes... Also, I think, if I may branch out, broad a philosophical point about the little gadgets that we all have in our lives nowadays. Actually, because everyone sees the world through the screen on their phone now, actually, it's a sort of an interface between you and the person. interfaces and what happens, it removes you from the reality of speaking to the person.

So everything sort of becomes a story. Everything has become a story for everybody now. Yes. So you then just become part of the story on their screen. It is true. Unless the photograph's taken, it didn't really happen on those. Exactly. So they haven't quite had the experience unless they've photographed it and sent it.

Indeed. And that's quite just an interesting. Yeah, it is. Actually part of the evolution of our gadgets. Yeah. It has changed the way people. Because you can stare, you can look up and find someone with a camera in your face, and they don't flinch.

Because they're just sort of wondering what you'll do, because you've become part of their narrative on their screen. Yes. And they put it down, and they look at you, and you see you staring at it, and then they sort of blush go, oh, sorry, put it away. But it's interesting what's happened. And how do you find life over there? I mean, here you are, Old Etonian, as Henry, of course.

I mean, I don't, for goodness sake, wear trousers. To promise me one thing, Damon. That is an old Etonian of not so many years ago. They're not ox blood trousers. You're not going to... They're smart. They are very smart, Henry. We've said they're very smart all day.

But you're not... They're actually very like a pair that my father wears quite often. Well, that's very worrying. But I mean, the old Etonian in you, you're not going to morph or gently become that sort of model of an old Etonian. Well, I think, but I think every young man should aspire to be like blow. I don't, I don't, I think he's looking fantastic, dandyish, I would say, dandyish. Is that a label you've had to get rid of, though, the Old Etonian bit?

Is that a bit of a millstone? People, mock politicians at the moment because of their background and so on. Has that ever been an issue with you or not? Well, it has, it's created complications that the country seems to being run by selection of Old Etonians and friends. But so, of course, it's, um, Of course, it's very current. It is a current topic, and it's in the air. But, no, from a career point of view,

I have to say I was, I suppose, astute enough to not mention it for about the first 10 years of acting. Really? Because I wanted to avoid typecasting. And once I felt sure that I had avoided typecasting, and I wasn't just playing sort of foppish, posh people. Partly because I have red hair, and they didn't want me to play those types.

I avoided it And then of course As soon as I mentioned it Every article started with Old Etonian, David Lewis And so Yes So nobody

You know I To be honest It's an extremely rare place To spend five years of your life Especially as a teenager And I am I'm not surprised by the interest In it

I'm sort of interested myself It was It was enjoyable It was enjoyable As much as school can be enjoyable I think I would rather not have been at school, just generally. It was a bit of a daydreamer. But I loved what it provided.

I was able to play as much sport as I wanted. I wasn't quite good enough to play in the 11 here at Lords. I was 12th man. I fetched my good friends, Adrian Bignall's very sweaty box. He'd been at silly point for quite a lot of the afternoon. How nasty? So he, with a little bit of the afternoon. of glee on his face reached down for his box and handed it to me and said go on run off with

that oh that's not kind uh no and um i i hope i'm not getting too racy for uh no it's okay how shattered were you when you were told you 12th man i mean that must have been an absolute devastating blow isn't it no because i to be honest i was only playing second 11 cricket anyway so it was sort of it was sort of an elevation for me just to be included at all but I think it's because I've been in the second 11 years these things haven't scarred me I don't want to give you the impression for the moment that these things are

my brother Gareth and my brother William who will never forgive me if I don't mention are both here today and they both played out here yes for two and three years apiece did they yeah they were they're all right they felt those lovely memories of William won't mind me saying that Gareth did slightly better Garrette was a strike bowler and he

took, I think, three wickets each time. How well do you know this place? I mean, if you only lived down the road and you've been here and you pop in, I mean, have you done the pavilion bit? Have you been through the dressing rooms, a long room? Have you really got some of the history felt it? I've had... The pavilion is a beautiful, beautiful building.

I've been into the long room twice perhaps and I've been into real tennis courts behind. Oh yes. But I've mostly been scattered around the ground, you know, just a applying for tickets like everyone else. Dad was a member, so we used to come up here as kids. We always came to the Nat West one day final, when it was Nat West, so that dates me.

So where does that take us, too? Yeah. So that's back to the 80s. Back to the 80s, and we were all always rover tickets, so they're in the Warner stand. Yeah. We could never get ourselves up early enough to be close behind the bar, our Ebola's arms. We were always just off to the side a bit. What is it about Lords that makes it special, do you think? What do you, what do you feel when you come in here?

Well, I don't think, I would say this about any great building or great institutional ground, perhaps, but you can't beat, you can't cheat history. And Lords, it feels like where it all started. And in fact, the original site down in Dorset Square, it's fantastic when you go through Dorset Square, which is a much smaller site than this. But realize that's where the original Lord's ground was before it was moved out here. And just, I ride my bicycle a lot, just bicycling from Dorset Square up to here and knowing that the decision was taken at some point just to come out here to St. John'swood,

put it down here. And the home of cricket, it's quite fitting that there is something like a seven and a half foot drop from one side of the outfield to the next. They didn't quite manage to get it straight. Little things like that are just lend its charm. And it's just, it's one of the great sporting arenas. It has an epic, as I say, sort of historical quality to it, but it's also very intimate.

So you always feel absolutely engaged with the cricket. So you'd be perfect to play somebody in a cricketing film, wouldn't you? Because you see the poor old actors struggling in that? It never quite works, does it? I mean, would you have the prowess to play a batsman? Could you play? As long as it, it's long, nothing getting up off a length, Thaggers. I was never very brave.

Well, no, I wasn't either. I didn't like anything like that. No. They could probably avoid that. As long as it was just nicely in the block or I could get my front foot forward. Yeah, because there must be a role for you. I mean, there are cricket films that are made,

and unfortunately... Maybe Johnny Berstow's biopic. Actually, that might be the... It might be the answer. You could be a Johnny Birsto double. They could be quite old by the time. We were having a look back at his career. James Bond for you.

Could there be a red-haired James Bond? Names Bond, Ginge Bond. Yes. And it has a ring to it. you're ready for that? I don't see why not. Now, you do play for the bumberries, or Mickey Take your side, don't you? And how have you been performing in that? Do you know what I haven't played for the last couple of years,

so I actually can't really tell you how I've been performing. I just haven't been around. Best when fresh? Yes, quite, exactly. Yeah, always looking for games of cricket, and the great thing about being, you know, resting actors, as we are for half of the year, is you can play midweek cricket.

So actually, that's my name. My next goal is to find some good mid-week cricket, maybe. There is a... Hamstead Cricket Club. There is an actors' cricket group. Well, there are lots of them play, Tim Rice and... Yes, absolutely. Harpins, of course, used to play in Sam Menace,

and they're all out there playing. Yes, they are. But I... Yeah. Rachel, one email, she's a huge fan of Homeland and Band of Brothers. Can you believe how popular those programs have become around the world? You never... It's always surprising. It's always surprising.

All you try to do is put yourself in... in good positions with talented and interesting people and I felt I was doing that with Homeland and Band of Brothers. Everything other than that is beyond your control. It's something that just is visited on you. What is the success of those programs? Is it the people working on it? Is it just because it's a very good story, very good script? Is it because it's beautifully produced? Or is it just everything? Everything just clicks into place amongst all of you. Well, I think Homeland is, first and foremost, you know, very good entertainment and I, but I think it's quite sophisticated at times and risks, dares to be political, dares to be a little bit provocative, has arguably given one of the more sensitive portrayals of Islam and what's it's like to be Muslim in recent years. I think they've done very well with it

and I was always very clear that I didn't want to just be part of a program that would draw some lazy parallels between violence and Islam I thought that would be irresponsible and I think they've managed to not do that or not to split my infinitives and old Italian's not split in trouble I got my novelist friend Charlie here

so as you don't split in infinitive please No you must definitely But Charlie writes thrillers I think, you know, people love thrillers, you know. Thank you for taking time to come in here. It was an absolute pleasure to be here. I guess I'm a huge fan. Well, we're huge fans of Damien's 2.

There are many more interviews as part of our 40 from 40 series, including a delightful chat with the acting icon, the late Sir Christopher Lee, with Brian Johnston in 1987. I started to learn cricket at my prep school, which was Summerfields. No, yeah, it's a doctor. At Oxford, yes, indeed. And I think that's where I was taught to. play. Unfortunately, the Bursa, as I think they were called in those days, of Summerfields,

who was a very good bowler, Mr. Boutel, I remember him vividly, was an extremely good bowler, but he had a rather strange action, which unfortunately, as one does at a very early age, I then proceeded to copy. And it's an action which was shared by Mike Proctor and Max Walker. In other words, it was rather like a windmill, and I bowled off the wrong foot, swinging my arms over twice. but you're six foot something six foot four so when i got going and i did open the bowling at my public school as well on occasions when i got going if i kept any kind of length they used to come up fairly high off the pitch and i was fairly quick the demon leave oh

absolutely yes so you played for wellington i on occasions did yes and the highest score i ever had in my life was while i was at wellington but not playing for the college i had a hundred and forty nine not out and came into the bavilion and burst into tears because I didn't make 150. Marvelous, isn't it? And did you keep it up after school or not? No, I was a little thing called World War II, which inconveniently intervened in 1939. I just left school about a year before. I was what was called, I suppose, in those days, a promising cricketer. I went in about four or five and fancied myself a lot, of course. You know, everybody used to say, what marvelous style when they saw me in the net. Shepurbed elegance of stroke play.

It was very different when I got out in the middle. I was so concerned in making these magnificent looking shots that I seldom scored enough runs. What about watching? Go right back to when you... What was your first big match? Do you remember the first one you saw? I think I can.

It's very difficult because it's a long time ago. It's at least 55 years ago, I hate to tell you, but it is. And it was while I was at my prep school and we watched a match played at Oxford. And I'm absolutely certain that Jack Hobbs was batting. Now, whether I'm right or not, I can't clearly recall, but I do know that I saw Jack Hobbs' bat and many of his great contemporaries. It might have been Surrey against Oxford or something of that kind. And I certainly, of course, remember the pre-war Australian teams vividly.

I remember Bradman as if he was walking out in front of me now. The one thing I remember about him, and of course naturally after the war as well, the one thing I remember about Bradman was the first time I ever saw him hit the ball. And that was his famous pull shot to the boundary from outside the off stump. I'd never seen a shot played like that. When I attempted to replace it, of course, with an equally, perhaps even a better shot, I was sternly ordered by the Games Master not to try such rubbish, but to keep a straight bat. I know, it's rotten, and his uses to go right down to sort of log on there.

It was a speed of light. Yeah, he was very quickly getting in a position. most wonderful footwork of any batsman I've ever seen. Well, the other great player in that time, I was lucky enough to see too. It was Wally Hammond. You see him? Oh, yes, many, many times. Many, many times.

I met him several times. Actually, I had a very great friend, a very dear friend, Bev Lyon, who was captain of Gloucester at one time. And he and Hammond, of course, used to play together. And he told me a wonderful story once about the Gloucester scorecard. In fact, this used to happen regularly throughout every season. Frequently, when Charlie Parker was bowling, the scorecard would read Court Lion Bowled Parker many, many times, because Bev used to field at second slip

and Wally Hammond at first, well, as everybody knows anything about cricket knows, Wally Hammond's one of the great slip fields of all time. He was so fast as he took the ball and literally flicked it out of the back of his hand to Bev, who threw it up in the air, and so it always went down as caught lion, bold park. So many other classics, too, by subscribing to the table. Test Match Special podcast. Classic View from the Boundary with the Test Match Special Team.

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