Damian Lewis recalls hungover meeting with Steven Spielberg

Damian Lewis was hungover during a meeting with Steven Spielberg after getting “hammered” on a night out in Los Angeles.
The 47-year-old British star got his big break in Hollywood after landing the lead role of Major Richard ‘Dick’ Winters in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
And after auditioning for the role with Tom Hanks, who served as executive producer on the show, Lewis celebrated the special day by indulging in a few too many drinks.
“I go out and get absolutely hammered. I’m so excited. I’m in L.A. I did a really good audition for Tom Hanks,” he told host Willie Geist on the Today show. “I come back at 3 in the morning and I get a phone call at 8 o’clock. ‘Damian, Steven (Spielberg) would like to meet you now, can you be here by nine?’”
He continued: “I have three showers, 17 cups of coffee and I go in shaking. And Steven is there, and he’s already got his video on his shoulder and then they offered me the role, there in the room. It was great. It was a great day.”
Spielberg was also an executive producer on Band of Brothers, alongside Hanks, after the pair worked together on the 1998 World War II film Saving Private Ryan.
Band of Brothers won a hoard of awards, including the Emmy and Golden Globe for best miniseries in 2001, and the red-headed actor’s career has gone from strength to strength in Hollywood.
Following his breakout role in the HBO series, he landed one of the lead roles in another U.S. drama series, Homeland. He starred as prisoner of war Nicholas Brody, alongside Claire Danes as CIA agent Carrie Mathison, which earned him an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe.