Homeland star Damian Lewis misses Claire Danes

Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Photo / Getty Images

Damian Lewis misses Claire Danes since he left Homeland.

The actor has been having withdrawal symptoms since his character, Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, was killed off in series three of the political drama, and wishes he could still be on set with his old co-star.

Speaking during the first ever London TimesTalks event organised by the New York Times last week, he sighed: "I miss Danesy! I miss her! They'll be starting up again now..."

The British thespian almost turned down a role in the hit Showtime programme because he didn't want to be apart from his wife, Helen McCrory, and their two children.

He explained: "Having had this wonderful but tough experience living in Los Angeles away from home, I was very reluctant to do to another TV show. The script was sent to me by my American agent who said, 'Just read this one'.

"Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa are involved, they ran 24. Claire Danes is doing it. I very nearly didn't do it, for personal reasons - going to live in Charlotte, north Carolina, and I wasn't going to move the family. But there were just too many compelling reasons [to sign up]."

Fans the world over were distraught when Brody was brutally killed off in the season three finale, but Damian feels lucky to have been a part of the show for so long.

He said in a conversation with International New York Times theatre critic Matt Wolf: "When I saw in season one how many people were losing their lives, I thought, 'Any moment now!' You sing for a long period of time, they can get rid of you, kill you, close down the entire series at the drop of a hat.

"It was intimated to me very strongly that I would only be in this for a couple of seasons. When it became a huge hit, all the executives said, 'You can't kill him now!'"

- Bang! Showbiz