Making it big on the small screen

It’s been a slow and steady rise to stardom for Damian Lewis. But now he’s hit the jackpot with an Emmy win for his role in Homeland. He talks to Craig McLean about fame, fatherhood and fan clubs.

DAMIAN Lewis opens our conversation with a sheepish mention of his ardent admirers. “I’ve a set of fans who call themselves — you’re not allowed to laugh — Damian Bunnies.”

Their name seems to be a reference to those other coppertop characters, the Duracell Bunnies. They have been following him since his 2001 breakthrough in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Second World War series Band of Brothers and “they’re absolutely lovely. In the end, I realised they knew so much about me, I let two of them run a fan site”.