The Billions Star Who Had The FBI Called On Him
It turns out that starring in a crime drama about the risky, complicated world of high finance in New York can actually get you in trouble. "Billions" follows Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Damian Lewis), a hedge fund manager with a squeaky clean exterior who also happens to be a ruthless backstabber when it comes to making money. Hot on his heels is US Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), who is determined to put Axelrod away for his illegal methods. It's incredibly compelling and loosely based on real individuals and specific events.
Lewis' performance as Axelrod has been constantly praised throughout all five seasons of the Showtime series, especially alongside former "Sons of Anarchy" star Maggie Siff, who swaps Tara Knowles' biker family to play performance coach Wendy Rhoades at Axelrod's company. Yeah, Wendy also happens to be married to Chuck — the same attorney chasing her boss, because that's not going to get complicated at all.
The show has been lauded for its accurate depiction of hedge fund managing and insider trading (via MarketWatch), but apparently, some audiences have blurred the line between fact and fiction, confusing one of the main cast members for a real-life criminal. We know the producers paid close attention to the small details in the series to make it convincing, but one person actually contacted the FBI in an attempt to tip them off about someone they thought was a wanted individual.
The FBI almost got involved with Damian Lewis
"Billions" is currently midway through its fifth season, but audiences are eagerly waiting for the remaining five episodes to air on TV as the pandemic disrupted work on the series. However,here's some drama from a few years ago to keep you going until the next few chapters arrive on Showtime: Damian Lewis was nearly arrested because of his leading role in the series. Apparently, the star plays a scheming crook too well, because per IMDB, Lewis was nearly the focus of an FBI investigation.
He'd been on holiday in Killybegs, Ireland, when he was spotted by a member of the public who thought the actor was actually a wanted hedge fund manager who'd escaped the United States. They decided to call the FBI. Obviously, it didn't go anywhere because the actor hadn't committed a crime by going on vacation, although maybe fans would disagree and say that he needs to hurry up and film more episodes. Fortunately, "Billions" has already been renewed for Season 6, so it looks like the series won't be ending for at least a bit longer. For the record, the federal government is not involved in production.