NEED TO KNOW
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Damian Lewis impressed Pressure director Anthony Maras with his “photographic memory” on set during filming
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The World War II film follows key figures making critical decisions in the tense hours before D-Day
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Pressure, out now, also stars Brendan Fraser, Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon and Chris Messina
Damian Lewis has a little-known talent that came in handy while filming his new movie, Pressure.
While attending the European premiere of the World War II film at London’s Odeon Leicester Square on Sept. 1, director Anthony Maras revealed exclusively to PEOPLE that Lewis’ “photographic memory” took him by surprise.
The actor stars in Pressure as a senior English military officer who warns Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) and Capt. James Stagg (Andrew Scott) that they will lose the war if they’re unsuccessful with the invasion of Normandy.
“Damian Lewis has to do a scene where he has to speak for two minutes in front of a video or a film projector, showing what all the preparations have been done for D-Day up until that point,” Maras told PEOPLE. “We didn’t cut this until the last minute.”
Anthony Maras at the European premiere of ‘Pressure’ in London on Sept. 1, 2026
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
“He didn’t have time to prepare, so initially, I was going to do it on a computer in such a way as to time it to how he spoke,” Maras continued of Lewis. “He said, ‘Forget all that, let me see the video.’ “
The Pressure director recalled telling the Band of Brothers star that he wouldn’t be able to get in sync for a full two minutes, but Lewis insisted he could perfect the scene after hearing the lines just twice.
“He said, ‘Let me have a look at it.’ He looks, [says], ‘Show me it one more time.’ He goes, ‘Alright, I’m ready.’ I’m like, ‘Come on, mate.’ He goes, ‘I’m ready,’ ” Maras said.
“I don’t know what kind of photographic, weird memory he has, but he synced his speech to the frame, to the second of what was playing behind him that he’d only seen twice,” he continued. “He’s got some kind of special talent for that, or eyes in the back of his head maybe, I don’t know.”
Damian Lewis at the European premiere of ‘Pressure’ in London on Sept. 1, 2026
Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
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In addition to Lewis, Fraser and Scott, the movie’s cast includes Kerry Condon and Chris Messina.
“In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, Pressure follows Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Capt. James Stagg as they face an impossible choice — launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether,” an official synopsis reads.
Pressure premiered in theaters on May 29.
Read the original article on People