Two days after announcing her death after ‘a heroic battle against cancer’, actor Damian Lewis has penned a tribute to his late wife, acclaimed actress Helen McCrory, for the UK. Sunday TimesThe 52-year-old Harry Potter and Peaky blinders star was 52.
‘On a weekend when the newspapers will rightly pay their respects to the Duke of Edinburgh, thousands of others around the world have reminded me of m’Duchess, my little one, in her own royal way,’ Native country and Billions star, 50, wrote about his wife. The couple married in 2007 and have two children, daughter Manon and son Gulliver.
While Lewis acknowledged McCrory’s formidable acting talents – praised by peers including Helen Mirren, Peaky blinders co-starred Cillian Murphy and several Harry Potter stars with whom she played Narcissa Malfoy – and her own love of the profession, he chose to dedicate his tribute to “Helen the person.”
“Helen was an even more brilliant person than an actress,” wrote the Emmy winner. “She was a people person, of course.” I’m much more interested in who I am with than where I am, ”she would say, and naturally wanted to share. But she also lived by the principle of kindness and generosity. That you put these things in the world to make it better, to make people feel better.
“I have never known anyone who spread happiness so consciously. To say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘you are so nice’ as much as she did. Even when she died in her last days when she spoke to our wonderful caretakers, she said repeatedly, “thank you very much” in her half delirious state.
He continued: ‘She always asked people what they were like, always interested, making every person she met feel special, as if they were the only person in the room. Gave them her full attention. Made them laugh, always. There were few funnier people – she was funny as hell. “
According to Lewis, taxi drivers, wait staff and the nurses who cared for her during her cancer treatment received special attention from his wife.
Helen would say, ‘Well, their job is much more difficult than mine,’ he recalled saying about nurses. “And she was dying.”
He described McCrory as one who believed in choosing happiness – “I’ve never known anyone who could enjoy life like this,” he shared – Lewis wrote that she remained stoic despite the illness, which she kept out of the public eye.
“She left our beautiful children, Manon and Gully, too soon, but they are prepared for life,” the British star wrote. They have the fearlessness, humor, curiosity, talent and beauty of their mother. She has urged us to be courageous and not afraid. As she repeatedly said to the kids, ‘Don’t be sad because even though I’m about to sniff it, I’ve lived the life I wanted. ‘
She has been extraordinarily heroic during her illness. Funny, of course – generous, courageous, without complaining, and constantly reminds us how happy we have been, how blessed we are. Her generosity has extended to encouraging the three of us to live. Life. complete, seize opportunities, experience adventures. Just a few weeks ago she said to us from her bed, ‘I want daddy to have girlfriends, a lot of them, you should all love again, love is not possessive, but you know, Damian, at least try through the funeral to come without hugging anyone. ‘
“I miss her already. She’s been shining brighter in recent months than you would think even the brightest star could shine. Also in life we had to get up to meet her. But her greatest and most exquisite act of courage and generosity has been to “normalize” her death. She has shown no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity, just armed us with the courage to carry on and insisted that no one should be sad because she is happy. I am staggered by her. She has been a meteor in our lives. ‘
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