Damian Lewis wrote a moving tribute to his late wife Helen McCrory, who passed away this week.
It was announced on Friday (April 16) that McCrory passed away at the age of 52 after a private cancer battle, with tributes from around the entertainment world.
“As I sit down to write it, I can hear Helen shouting out of bed, ‘Keep it short, Damian, it’s not about you,'” Lewis wrote in a new tribute shared by The times.
‘I will try, but on a weekend when the newspapers will rightly pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, thousands of other people around the world have remembered that m’Duchess, my little one, is royalty in her own right. And I would like my tuppence worth …
He added: ‘She was very proud to be an artist and actress. Her OBE, the recognition of her outstanding talent, made her so happy. Her craft was something she tackled with rigor, honesty and intelligence to get others to come up to meet her, but she never imposed herself because she loved collaboration, whether it was film, TV or theater. But as she told me a few weeks ago, “Doing theater is what made my heart sing.” ‘
“A lot of people have talked about her career and a lot more, so this is where I’ll leave it at that,” Lewis wrote, “because it strikes me that two things are happening this weekend: an outburst of sadness and shock and a celebration of Helen McCrory the actress from everywhere fans, and of Helen the person. And that’s who I want to talk about.
Helen was an even more brilliant person when she was an actress. She was certainly a human being. “I’m much more interested in who I am, 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. ”
He added: “I have never known anyone who so consciously spread happiness. To say just as much ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘you are so nice’. Even when she died the last few days, when she spoke to our wonderful caregivers, she repeatedly said, “Thank you very much” in her half-ominous condition. “
Lewis praised the humor of his late wife – ‘There were few funny people – she was funny as hell’, and how she made ‘every person she meets’ feel special as if they were the only person in the room. ‘
Later in the tribute, Lewis discussed the kindness of his wife and told a story of her last days in the hospital.
‘One nurse at the Royal Marsden once told me that they were actually looking forward to coming in to Helen because she was making their day better. Asked how they are doing, caring for their home life, spreading joy and making them laugh. Helen would say, “Well, their job is much harder than mine.” And she was dying. ”
He added: ‘She understood anger, and often told the children not to be afraid of it. “It’s a positive emotion if you use it right.” And I had her a fair share of it. She can be wonderfully angry, precious, dismissive. Delicious. But also happy. Always. Some people believe happiness is a right, other people find happiness difficult. It’s an elusive emotion. Helen believed that you choose happiness.
‘I have never known anyone who could enjoy life so much. Her ability to be in the present and enjoy the moment was inspiring. She is also not interested in looking at cloves. No real interest in self-reflection; she believed in looking outward, not inward. That’s why she could turn her light so brightly on others. ‘
Lewis ‘tribute continued:’ She left our beautiful children, Manon and Gully, too soon, but they are prepared for life. They have the fearlessness, wit, curiosity, talent and beauty in their mother. She encouraged us to be courageous and not to be afraid. While she repeatedly told the children, “Do not be sad, because even though I am going to sniff it, I have lived the life I wanted.” ‘
“She was completely heroic in her illness. Funny, of course – generous, brave, failing, and constantly reminding us how happy we were, how blessed we are. Her generosity has expanded to encourage the three of us to live. Live fully, take advantage of opportunities, experience adventures. Just a few weeks ago she said to us from her bed, ‘I want Daddy to have girlfriends, lots of them, you all have to love again, love is not possessive, but you know, Damian, at least try the funeral without engulfing anyone. ‘”
He concluded: “I miss her already. She has shone brighter in recent months than you would think even the brightest star can shine. In life we also had to get up to meet her. But her greatest and most wonderful act of bravery and generosity was to “normalize” her death.
“She showed no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity, but only the courage to go on and insisted that no one should be sad, because she is happy. I was amazed by her. She was a meteor in our lives. ‘
Lewis then ends his tribute with the poem Phenomenal woman by Maya Angelou:
‘This is the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my middle,
And the joy in my feet.
I am a woman
Phenomenal.
Phenomenal woman,
It is me.”