Damian Lewis Pays Tribute To Helen McCrory In First Public Appearance Since Her Death

Damian Lewis continues to honor the memory of his late wife, Helen McCrory.

In his first public appearance since her death, the 50-year-old actor got emotional at the National Theatre’s A Poet for Every Day of the Year event Tuesday night at the Lyttelton Theatre in London. According to The Guardian, the show, based on the poetry anthologist Allie Esiri’s latest book, was dedicated to McCrory. It featured readings from a few of her colleagues and friends, such as Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Sharp, and Fay Ripley. There was also a touching moment with Lewis, who paid tribute to the late actress in a speech and read a poem on stage. He told the audience:

“One person whose thunder absolutely would not be stolen was Helen McCrory. You could try, but it wouldn’t work.”

Per The Guardian, the Homeland alum then read a verse from Irish poet Derek Mahon’s Everything Is Going to Be All Right, which included the lines:

“There will be dying, but there is no need to go into that … The sun rises in spite of everything … Everything is going to be all right.”

Wow. They also concluded the evening with a video of McCrory reading Wild Geese by Mary Oliver from a previous event. What a beautiful way to honor her…

McCrory — best known for playing Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise and Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders — died at the age of 52 in April following a battle with cancer. Following the news of her death, Lewis reflected on his partner’s life in an emotional piece for The Sunday Times, writing:

“Helen was an even more brilliant person than she was an actress. She was a people person, sure. ‘I’m much more interested in who I’m with than where I am,’ she would say, and innately wanted to share. But she also lived by the principle of kindness and generosity. That you put these things out into the world to make it better, to make people feel better.”

He noted that McCrory continued to “spread happiness” even in her final days:

“Even when dying in her last few days, when talking to our wonderful carers, she repeatedly said, ‘thank you so much’ in her half delirious state. I’ve never known anyone able to enjoy life as much. Her ability to be in the present and enjoy the moment was inspirational. Nor was she interested in navel-gazing. No real interest in self-reflection; she believed in looking out, not in. Which is why she was able to turn her light so brightly on others.”

The Billions star then described how she was “utterly heroic” while dealing with her illness, saying:

“Funny, of course — generous, brave, uncomplaining, constantly reminding us all of how lucky we’ve been, how blessed we are. Her generosity has extended to encouraging us three to live. Live fully, take opportunities, have adventures. Already I miss her. She has shone more brightly in the last months than you would imagine even the brightest star could shine. In life, too, we had to rise to meet her. But her greatest and most exquisite act of bravery and generosity has been to ‘normalize’ her death. She’s shown no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity, only armed us with the courage to go on and insisted that no one be sad, because she is happy.”

Lewis then concluded:

“I’m staggered by her. She’s been a meteor in our life.”

We cannot imagine how difficult this event must have been for Damian as he continues to mourn McCrory’s loss. If you would like, you can watch the tribute on the National Theatre’s YouTube page when it comes out on March 3.

[Image via Lia Toby/WENN/Warner Bros/YouTube.]