Snakkle: First of all, I would just like to preemptively congratulate you for all of the Emmy nominations Homeland is going to get. When you get them, you can tell me I told you so.

Damian Lewis: Really? I don’t even think about things like that, but that’s so nice, thank you.

Snakkle: It’s been such a phenomenal season—it’s really taken many of us by surprise—and it seems to be a lock. Leading up to the season finale, I know it will only get bigger and better for Sergeant Brody. Have we really seen the truth now, in terms of his motives?

Lewis: We saw a little shift in his motivation, which I think ultimately will be the biggest twist, and quite an interesting one. It seems as though Brody—we’re not saying that Brody is going to commit some kind of terrorist act, although he may not—but it’s clear that if something does happen, it’s going to come from a more sort of personal vigilantism, if you like, because of this love and relationship he starts up with Isa—this sort of surrogate son relationship that he had.

Snakkle: You can tell me the truth: His acceptance of a bid to run for Congress is to pull a punch from the inside, isn’t it?

Lewis: [Laughs.] I think it’s clear that he views the acts of sending drones into houses in war villages or wherever in the Arab world an act of terrorism itself, and Brody will, I think, find a way of inserting himself in a political life. It’s in a balance.… There seems to be a mix of things floating around at the moment. He might commit some violent atrocity; he might also just insinuate himself into the political life. It seems as though Vice President Walden likes him and wants him around. There are parallels to be drawn with Senator John McCain, who had a similar experience in the military and successfully went into political life. There are precedents there that we are going to draw on.

Snakkle: Obviously his bond with Isa runs deep, but now that he is back and making moves for Abu Nazir, will he stop to consider that his actions might make him responsible for an attack that hurts kids—maybe even his kids—the way Isa was hurt?

Lewis: Of course, that’s the moral question. Brody will always be a soldier, and his stance will be as a soldier. So if he wants to act, he will act as a soldier. The problem with Brody is that he is fragile; he is a man who was broken physically and psychologically by his incarceration and being tortured, and his response might be disproportionate. But we don’t know that yet. Certainly there’s that danger. There’s also the possibility that when Brody does act, he does so symbolically so that the act itself is bigger and more violent—more brutal—than you would imagine is necessary.

Snakkle: Brody has been thrust into the spotlight overnight—first being found alive after eight years, and now with his political run—can you talk a little bit about what you consider your own big break and how you reacted to being on set, in the public eye?

Lewis: I—you know, I’ve never thought about this! Just off the cuff, I consider myself an actor with many, many breaks… just doing hopefully good work that appeals to sort of different sections of the industry. But certainly in this country—in the U.S.—it’s more exciting when you can peak over here because you guys really know how to celebrate success! Where I come from, it’s sort of something we struggle with. [Laughs.] Clearly Band of Brothers was a big thing for me. It was a show that was so lovingly put together; it was brilliantly put together in personnel, with Steven [Spielberg] and Tom [Hanks]. It couldn’t have been more high profile, and you know, I played the lead in it, and I think it took me a while to realize what it was that I was involved in, to be honest, because I wasn’t part of the hysteria surrounding it because I was in London.

Snakkle: Now that Brody knows Tom Walker is alive, will he attempt to reach out and reel him in, have Tom working alongside him for his cause?

Lewis: Tom Walker is a bit of a surprise for Brody. Brody genuinely thought he’d killed him, you know? And Walker, on the scene, he’s a rogue element, and I think what you’ll see is that Walker and Brody occupy slightly different spaces after their experiences of being captured. I think Brody is altered, definitely, but I think you’ll find Walker is damaged in a whole different way; he’s cracked.

Snakkle: You sounded like you were carefully thinking about how you’d phrase that; does that mean they may unknowingly be working on the same plan and end up face to face without Brody even trying?

Lewis: Well, you’ll have to tune in to find out!

Snakkle: Aw, I had to try!

Lewis: Just remember, there’s one person who runs the whole show. He’s in charge, so he releases information to Brody and Walker as he sees fit—as is useful to him.

Snakkle: Right, and you mentioned a minute ago that Brody will always be a soldier, and soldiers just fall in line with their orders. But Brody is running for Congress, where he’d be in a powerful, decision-making position. Can we look forward to a little power struggle before the end of the season?

Lewis: Abu Nazir is radicalized; Brody is not. Brody is Muslim, but he uses his faith as a force for good and for personal sustenance. I think it’s clear now from the show that if Brody acts, he’ll do it from a personal place, as I said before. There’s no sense that he’s doing it from a sort of religious perspective, so you really expect there to be some conflict between him and Abu Nazir before the end of the season.

Snakkle: And speaking of Brody’s personal actions, what does the lead-up to the finale look like for Brody and Carrie?

Lewis: Carrie’s story is devastating. I won’t spoil too much, but she struggles more and more with her mental health, and she becomes more obsessive about stopping this—what she perceives to be a plot against the U.S. And as Brody positions himself—I’m not going to tell you how—he approaches Claire… ah, it’s confusing! He approaches Carrie… They do continue to be in proximity to each other. Without giving anything away, I think you’ll find that the Brody/Carrie story will continue to play in a Casablanca-esque way. I think there will be a need and a real passion for one another, but they can’t be together.

Snakkle: It does seem like they’re both damaged—for different reasons—in similar ways, so they seem like a good match for each other as the series goes on, even past the finale.

Lewis: That’s something that, you know, I’ve been talking with a lot of people about—how the show works on a personal, domestic level, as well as the, of course, thriller level. The writers have managed to weave these different stories and make it very psychological. That will be a mainstay of the series. I can’t promise you that Brody’s going to be around all of the time, but certainly for now, Brody and Carrie have this, you know, Casablanca-esque relationship.

Homeland’s first season finale airs on Showtime on December 18, 2011, at 10 p.m.

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