Damian Lewis reveals taking part in Henry VIII in Wolf Hall ‘wore him down’ as he admits life may be ‘gray and dithering’ after spouse Helen McCrory misplaced her battle with most cancers

Damian Lewis has revealed that taking on the role of Henry VIII in the BBC‘s adaptation of Wolf Hall wore him down. 

The actor, 53, candidly confessed that he usually finds acting very therapeutic but found the role of the Tudor monarch exhausting. 

The Homeland star explained that acting a character who can seemingly do whatever they please had moments of fun because life is not usually like that.

He told The Radio Times that it was a welcome contrast as he often found life could be grey and dithering. 

He said: ‘Well, acting is therapeutic, for sure, but I don’t think you’d want to be playing these kinds of people too often because they do wear you down over time.

‘So, yes, there is a freedom, there is something therapeutic to be able to behave in whatever way you want, because any good drama most of the time explores us in extremis – our excesses, our greatest conflicts and our greatest triumphs – and life isn’t always like that. Life can be a bit more grey and a bit more dithering.’

The star made the candid confession three years after the death of his wife Helen McCrory.

The Peaky Blinders actor tragically died of breast cancer at the age of 52 in April 2021 and Damian channeled his grief into music. 

The star wrote some deeply personal songs that have featured on his debut album Mission Creep which was released last year. 

And the Billions star has been enjoying the change of creative outlet, spending time with other musicians and performing. 

But Damian added that he will only continue with his music as long as there is public appetite for it.  

The star said: ‘It has to wash its own face,’ and added he would like to keep going if he can. 

He also revealed that his new music career is a step up from his early days when he would perform on the street as a teenager outside tube stations. 

Damian said: ‘I did a smorgasbord of greatest hits from back in the day. The Elvis medley went down very well.’

And the star has more than one string to his bow. 

He told the publication he enjoyed the role of Henry VIII because it allowed him to immerse himself in the history of the period.

He said: ‘I enjoyed history very much. I enjoy the university of acting. You can continue to put yourself through an education if you’re careful and clever in your choice of roles; if you’re fortunate enough to have choice in the first place. 

‘So, yes, playing someone like Henry VIII does open an opportunity to read extensively about Tudor history and that is certainly partly what interests me about the roles I take.’

Damian will be starring as the difficult monarch in the BBC’s adaptation of the Wolf Hall trilogy.

Based on Dame Hilary Mantel’s novel of the same name, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light picks up where the last series ended in the aftermath of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn. While the death of the Queen has left the King free to marry again, the politics at court are deadlier than ever before. 

An isolated and increasingly desperate Thomas Cromwell, played again by Sir Mark Rylance, will stop at nothing to cling on to power, while an increasingly paranoid King Henry, again played by Homeland star Damian Lewis, is proving more difficult to please.

This bleaker tone is evident in the new trailer which features the King telling Tudor powerbroker Cromwell: ‘You have very few friends Cromwell’ and ‘always you with the bad news’. Cromwell tells one of his supporters: ‘When negotiations and compromise fail and your only course is to destroy your enemies… have the axe in your hand.’

This darker tone will reflect the reality of the period. But the show is not all blood and guts. Fans who were hooked on the sumptuous costumes, settings and locations in the first series will not be disappointed this time around.

The show comes after Damian took a step back from acting to focus on his music career and tour his debut album. 

Damian previously revealed he felt a sense of comfort releasing his album last year – which included lyrics about his late wife Helen .

Reflecting on his music during an interview on This Morning in March, The red-haired actor said: ‘If I had written a song it went on a record. I wrote 10 songs and that felt hard enough.

‘I Iooked at some of my old songs and they were so terrible!’

Damian continued: ‘But I felt comfortable with Mission Creep. There are some personal songs on there, people will know about my late wife Helen.

‘So there’s some personal stuff there.’

The Billions star and Helen shared daughter Manon, 16, and son Gulliver, 15, who Damian revealed had been supportive of his decision to pause acting and pursue music.

He explained: ‘They’re being really sweet about it and they are actually really talented musicians themselves.

‘I think it can be a bit annoying that your dad is doing music when that’s what you want to do, but they are a more talented than me so I have told them to keep going at it.

‘There isn’t a chance in hell they will ever [perform] with me.’

While Damian has not confirmed which songs are about Helen, his emotional track She Comes seem to be speaking of his grief.

The lyrics include: ‘She comes as a blackbird, she comes as a fox. She sits at the window, she sings from a rock.

‘She’s the moon in the day and the sun that shines in the dark. She rests in me and she rests in shade. She’s my joy, she’s my pain and she rained on me.’