Damian Lewis: ‘Somebody put flowers at my toes and I realised it was my stalker’ | Films

In the spirit of your role as Lord Davenport in Fackham Hall – what is the poshest thing you have ever done?

Taking a helicopter to Royal Ascot. That is one of the poshest things I have done. I became aware of how posh it was when I started calming down and realised I wasn’t going to fall out of it.

There’s a scene in which you spit an hors d’oeuvre squarely at Katherine Waterston. How many takes did you need to get it right?

Thirty-three. But that’s because I asked for 20 more just because I was enjoying it. I hit her in the face one time – she was very good about it. [laughing] It was almost like she enjoyed it.

What has been your most memorable interaction with a fan?

Well, I had a stalker. We had an injunction on her and I thought that everything was safe and then I was on stage doing a press night in the West End and someone stood up out of the front row and put flowers at my feet and I realised it was my stalker. My blood froze. I wish I could have a nicer one!

What is the worst job you have ever done?

I think it was selling overcoats at Burberry. I kinda got fired because I was not very good at it. I was conning people into wearing the wrong size raincoats and telling them that it was the fashion, and they were really too big or really too small. And then I got found out. I just did it for the badness of it. I had that job for about three weeks.

What are you secretly really good at?

I think I’m really good at garden cricket. I play Tests with my son.

What film do you always return to and why?

Withnail and I. I first watched it when I was a drama student, training to be an actor, and I didn’t get any of the jokes. It just seemed horribly real, and I had to watch it again to realise that it was a comedy masterpiece. But when I first watched it I sat there sort of glum and increasingly depressed at these two out-of-work actors because I hadn’t started as a professional actor yet. But it’s become one of my favourite all-time films.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Don’t read your reviews. I was told this by a guy called Tim Pigott-Smith, who was a wonderful actor and he was directing me in Hamlet. I was playing Hamlet – this was early, I was about 24. He said, “Just know yourself the strengths and the weaknesses of the production and of your performance, and don’t read any reviews.” Excellent advice.

What is the oldest thing you own and why do you still have it?

Either Clowny or Ellie. They were my two favourite stuffed toys when I was five. I gave them to my kids. They’re in good shape – I mean, the clown’s lost a few eyes and a nose. They sleep with me in my bed, obviously.

What has been your most cringeworthy run-in with a celebrity?

It was late at night on a film lot in Los Angeles and I nearly got into a fight with an A-list celebrity. He thought I was driving too fast – I was driving home at the end of the night. He was with four of his pals. I don’t think about it any more – it happened 20 years ago, everyone was tired.

What is the strangest thing you have done for love?

[Singing I’d Do Anything for Love by Meat Loaf] I’d do anything for love, but I won’t do that … I’ve done a lot of strange things. How strange am I prepared to go right here? Very, verrry strange. Actually, I don’t know if you do strange things for love. You just do lovely things for love, don’t you?