The 51-year-old television, film and stage star has been honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to drama and charity.
Among his best-known roles are Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers, Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland and Henry VIII in Wolf Hall.
Last year he bowed out of his most recent high-profile role, that of ambitious hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod in Billions, after five series.
During the coronavirus lockdowns, he and his late wife Helen McCrory co-founded Feed NHS, a fundraiser to give food from high street restaurants to NHS staff and by April 2020 they had raised around £1million for the charity.
News of his honour was previously rumoured, with a friend telling The Sun: ‘This is richly deserved for all the work Damian has done for so many people with so much done with little or no public fanfare.’
Lewis was born on 11 February 1971 in St John’s Wood, London, and attended Eton College.
After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His big break came when he appeared in Jonathan Kent’s production of Hamlet, playing Laertes, and was spotted by Steven Spielberg, who then cast him in Band Of Brothers.
Lewis continued to take jobs in television, film and theatre although his most celebrated roles were on the small screen.
Between 2011 and 2013, he starred as the conflicted Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas Brody in Homeland, an espionage thriller that won multiple awards.
His turn as Axelrod in the Showtime series Billions ran from 2016 to 2021.
Lewis was previously made an OBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
After receiving the award from Prince William, he joked: ‘It was a bit like being asked to be a prefect, now I have to be extremely responsible.’
In 2010, he became a trade justice ambassador for the charity Christian Aid.
His new honour comes after his wife, acclaimed actress McCrory, died in April 2021 aged 52 following a battle with cancer.
McCrory, known for her work on stage and screen, including playing Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films and appearing as Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, died at home in London.
They share two children.
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