Damian Lewis

London-born actor Damian Lewis cultivated a reputation in the press not only for his well-received performances, but for his ability to effectively slip out of his English accent and into American characterizations. The actor first came to prominence in the early 2000s via his participation in the Steven Spielberg WWII miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) on HBO, then delivered a pair of high-profile cinematic portrayals over the next three years: as a man who gets possessed by an extraterrestrial in the widely panned Stephen King/Lawrence Kasdan horror opus Dreamcatcher (2003) -- and a critically acclaimed lead role as a schizophrenic father bereft of his little girl in Lodge Kerrigan's psychodrama Keane (2004). Lewis's turn as a volatile and psychotic ex-husband opposite Jennifer Lopez in Lasse Hallström's An Unfinished Life turned a few heads; unfortunately, Miramax shelved the film after its production in 2003, and it failed to reach theaters before the fall of 2005. Thereafter, Lewis signed for a lead role opposite Connie Nielsen and Mido Hamada in the politically charged thriller The Situation (2006) and garnered a lead on the small-screen series drama Life, as a former police officer once sentenced to years in jail for a crime he did not commit, who, now exonerated, returns to his old career. - Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide