Mission Creep Damian Lewis

• 1 Down on the Bowery 04:09
• 2 Soho Tango 04:38
• 3 Hole in my Roof 03:35
• 4 Harvest Moon 04:49
• 5 My Little One 03:01
• 6 She Comes 04:33
• 7 After Midnight 03:32
• 8 Zaragoza 03:05
• 9 Never Judge a Man by his Umbrella 03:30
• 10 Wanna Grow Old in Paris 04:53
• 11 Makin' Plans 03:45
• 12 Why 03:39
• 13 Such a Night 04:06
• Total Runtime 51:15

Info for Mission Creep

The British actor Damian Lewis is known to numerous series fans in Germany at the latest since his charismatic and later award-winning character Nicholas Brody in the series "Homeland". Before his successful career in acting, Damian Lewis was primarily a musician, inspired by the style-defining rock bands of his youth and on the road for years as a street musician. Being a musician, as we know, has neither a beginning nor an end, but is a lifelong state that is at most temporarily eclipsed by other biographical events. At 52, Mr. Lewis returns to his origins to finally record his debut album. He wrote most of the recorded tracks himself, including this first single release, "Down On The Bowery".

This is just what the world needs," says Damian Lewis with a broad grin. "Another record from an actor." It's a very typical remark for Lewis: with a charming mixture of self-irony and self-knowledge, he takes the wind out of the sails of potential critics and notorious complainers right away. The 52-year-old Briton is only known to the public as a decorated film, television and theatre actor (CBE), especially through internationally successful series such as "Band Of Brothers", "Homeland" and "Billions". Music has always been Damian's first passion and has never let him go, despite his extremely successful acting career. His colleagues know this only too well. As a guitarist and singer, he has been part of an occasional band for many years, which entertains the entire film crew at parties after filming.

Now the mime has ventured out of his comfort zone and finally recorded his first album. And it is really more than worth listening to. On "Mission Creep", Damian Lewis offers an original collection of rootsy, rocky and - yes! - sometimes a bit jazzy songs, which testify to a deep love of music and an equal need for communication. The jazzy touch is provided by musicians from Kansas Smitty's House Band, which is led by alto saxophonist Giacomo Smith in London and has already counted Theon Cross from Sons Of Kemet among its members.

The first single "Down On The Bowery" provides a first taste of the album, which is to be released on 16 June by Decca. The catchy number sounds a bit as if Damian had borrowed it from the songbook of Bruce Springsteen or perhaps REM. But in fact, just like the rest of the songs on "Mission Creep", it came from his own pen. No question, the man has great talent not only as an actor.

Damian Lewis, vocals, guitar

Damian Lewis
was raised on Abbey Road in London until the age of 8 with his siblings Gareth, William and Amanda. Beginning in 1979, he attended Ashdown House Boarding School in Forest Row, East Sussex and went on to Eton College where, at the age of 16, he formed his own theatre company The Chameleons. After Eton, he took a year to travel in Africa and upon his return studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama between 1990 and 1993. He began his work as a stage actor at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Romeo and Juliet and Rope soon after graduating from drama school. Damian performed in Moliere’s School for Wives at the Almeida, played the Dane himself in Hamlet at the Open Air Theatre and made his Broadway debut as Laertes to Ralph Fiennes’ Hamlet in 1995. Damian then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company until 1999 and received the Ian Charleson Award, rewarded annually to the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30, for his portrayal of Borghejm in Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf.

Damian got his first major television break in Warriors (1999), followed by his portrayal of U.S. Army Officer and decorated war veteran Major Richard “Dick” Winters in the HBO/BBC miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), which earned him critical acclaim and his first Golden Globe nomination. He went on to do several other major projects over the next decade, including The Forsyte Saga (2002) and Life (2007) on the small screen, Keane (2004), An Unfinished Life (2005), The Escapist (2008), and more on the big screen, and Five Gold Rings, Pillars of the Community and The Misanthrope on stage.

His equally notable role as U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicolas Brody in the Showtime hit series Homeland (2011) earned him a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. His performance as Henry VIII in BBC/PBS miniseries Wolf Hall (2015) earned him his third Primetime Emmy nomination and fourth Golden Globe nomination. Damian played New York hedge fund titan Bobby Axelrod in the Showtime hit series Billions from 2016-2021, and again in 2023 for the final season.

Damian returned to stage in the last few years in two modern American plays, David Mamet’s American Buffalo and Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? In 2019 he played the Guest Inspector in the play Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] and again in 2024 for Whodunnit3 [Unrehearsed]. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, Damian performed in various virtual theatrical projects for Theater of War Productions, such as Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes, as well as Oedipus. And he played Percy Bysshe Shelley in the virtual production of Lift Me Up, I am Dying. In 2022 Damian returned to musical theatre in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends tribute concert and gala, playing the wolf alongside Bernadette Peters from Into the Woods. In October 2023 Damian performed in Noel Coward’s London Calling! at the Duke of York’s theatre in the West End. In 2024 Damian performed various roles, such as Mark Antony, Hamlet, Pothumus, Quince, and Henry V in Shakespeare for Everyday of the Year – Live! at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

His recent film credits include Our Kind of Traitor (2016), Run This Town (2019), Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019), Dream Horse (2020), The Radleys (2024), Pressure (2025) and Fackham Hall (2025). Damian played vampire twins Peter and Will Radley in the dark comedy The Radleys, which had its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 20, 2024. Wide release was October 4, 2024 in the US and October 18 in the UK. Damian also served as executive producer on the film through his Ginger Biscuit Entertainment company. In September of 2024 it was announced Damian would be returning to Normandy, this time as Senior British Army Officer and Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, nicknamed “Monty,” which is currently in production.

His latest television projects include Damian Lewis: Spy Wars (2019), A Spy Among Friends (2022), and Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (2024). Spy Wars is a television docu-series that examines some of the most important international spy operations of the last forty years. The History Channel series was commissioned by A+E Networks, directed by Damian’s brother Gareth Lewis and produced by Alaska TV in association with the Damian’s recently launched Rookery Productions. A Spy Among Friends is a television mini-series based on the true story of Nicholas Elliott (Lewis) and Kim Philby, two spies and lifelong friends, one of whom was betraying the other all along, at the height of the Cold War. The show aired in December, 2022 on new streaming platform ITVX (UK) and MGM+ (US). Damian served as executive producer through his production company Ginger Biscuit Entertainment, LTD. Damian reprised his role as King Henry VIII for the final installment of the trilogy, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, released in November 2024 on BBC in the UK and scheduled for release in the US on PBS in March, 2025.

From actor to musician: Meeting with various London-based musicians, including Giacomo Smith, Damian wrote songs and found himself in the recording studio cutting tracks that were released on his debut album Mission Creep out June 16, 2023. The first single ‘Down on the Bowery’ was released April 13, 2023 and a special double-sided vinyl release of tracks ‘Zaragoza’ and ‘Never Judge a Man by His Umbrella’ was released April 22, 2023 for Record Store Day. ‘Zaragoza’ was his official second release, followed by ‘Makin’ Plans’ and ‘She Comes.’ His band of five has jazz roots and the album is described as a bluesy sound, with originals and a few covers.

This album contains no booklet.