Actor Damian Lewis has paid a heartbreaking tribute to his late wife Helen McCrory, writing that she was “a meteor in our lives.”
The “Billions” star remembered McCrory, who died of cancer on Friday at the age of 52, as a “brilliant” actress and a kind and generous person.
“I have never known anyone who spread happiness so consciously,” Lewis wrote in the Sunday Times of the UK.
“Even when he died in the last few days, when he spoke to our wonderful caregivers, he repeatedly said, ‘Thank you very much’ in his half delirious state.”
The couple met in 2003 when they both starred in a play at the Almeida Theater in London and were married four years later. They shared two children, 14-year-old Manon and 13-year-old Gulliver.
McCrory, who was known for her roles in the “Harry Potter” films and the BBC’s “Peaky Blinders” program, was “fiercely proud” to be an actress and artist, her husband wrote.
But “Helen was an even brighter person than an actress.”
“He was a person of the people, sure … But he also lived according to the principle of kindness and generosity. That you put these things in the world to improve them, to make them
people feel better, ”Lewis wrote.
“He always asked people what they were like, he was always interested and made every person he knew feel special, like he was the only person in the room. He gave them all his attention. He made them laugh, always. “There were few more fun people and it was fun as hell.”
Lewis, 50, recalled how a nurse at Royal Marsden Hospital in London told her that carers were looking forward to McCrory’s visits “because it improved their day. Asked about how they were, they cared about their lives at home, they spread joy, it made them laugh ”.
“Helen would say, ‘Well, her job is a lot harder than mine.’ And she was dying.”
Even in his illness, McCrory was “absolutely heroic,” Lewis said.
“Funny, of course generous, brave, without complaint, and it constantly reminds us of the luck we’ve had, the bliss we are.”
“I’ve never met anyone capable of enjoying life so much,” he wrote. “His ability to be in the present and enjoy the moment was inspiring. Nor was he interested in the observation of the navel. No real interest in self-reflection; he believed in looking out, not in. That’s why he was able to give such a bright light to others. “
Although he left his children too early, they have been “prepared for life,” Lewis said.
“They have in them the fear, the ingenuity, the curiosity, the talent and the beauty of their mother. He urged us to be brave and not be afraid. “
Lewis closed his tribute by describing how he misses his late wife, and wrote that “he has shone brighter in recent months than you would imagine that even the brightest star could shine.”
“In life we also had to get up to get to know her,” she wrote. “But his greatest and most exquisite act of courage and generosity has been to ‘normalize’ his death. He has shown no fear, no bitterness, no compassion, he has only armed us with courage to continue and insisted that no one be sad. , because he is happy “.
“I’m staggered by her,” Lewis added. “It’s been a meteor in our lives.”