Damian Lewis and Helen McCory admit their decision to keep working whilst raising young children was "difficult" but "worth it".

Damian Lewis and Helen McCory

Damian Lewis and Helen McCory

The 47-year-old 'Homeland' actor married the 49-year-old 'Peaky Blinders' actress in 2007 but when the couple had daughter Manon, 11, and son Gulliver, 10, together they chose to continue working in the industry to provide for their family and keep their careers going.

Damian accepts that there are parts of their children's lives which he and Helen have both had to miss due to work commitments but he doesn't regret their joint decision.

Speaking to The Evening Standard, he said: "I must have made the decision that this is worth it, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it. I know people who have put their careers to one side almost entirely for five, six, seven years while they bring their kids up, and some of them get lucky afterwards and they can come back to work, get in the saddle and keep working, and others haven't been so lucky at all.

"Helen and I made the decision that, while we would be present and hands-on parents as best we could during this time, we'd still keep on working and not derail our careers entirely. It's a difficult decision but then, we do need to make money. I've pretty much flown back and forth from New York to London every ten days for the last six months."

Damian admits leaving his children for any length of time for a shoot never gets easier but he makes sure to spend quality time with them when he's at home and when the family go away on vacation.

He said: "It's not easy to leave my kids but I tell them I'm flying back to work so we can have a nice holiday later on with all the air miles that I'm amassing. We muddle through but it is hard work. I must say, I'm getting quite tired of the departure lounge at Newark Airport."


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