David Harewood is an English actor who portrayed David Estes on Homeland.
Biography[]
The British actor David Harewood, who has held an Order of Merit in his homeland since 2012, was born on December 8, 1965 in Small Heath, Birmingham. There he attended St. Benedict's Junior School and later Washwood Heath Comprehensive School. As a student, Harewood was a keen sportsman. He loved running, playing basketball or rugby and especially football. Since he was also quite a class clown and was often thrown out, a teacher advised him to try acting. At the age of 18 he finally went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to study and received professional acting training there, which laid the foundation for his career. Otherwise he would probably have tried to become a professional soccer goalkeeper. Today he is still a big fan of the Birmingham City club.
Harewood has been active as a professional actor since 1990. Since then he has appeared in a large number of productions, both in theater and in film and television. He threw himself into the work with all his heart and soul and sometimes even accepted the poor pay in order to play a role. Although he always had leading roles, his big breakthrough wasn't until 2011 with the Showtime series "Homeland." Through the role of CIA chief David Estes, his face ultimately became known in the USA, which from his personal point of view can also be seen as the starting signal for the second part of his career. Although it may be said that Harewood never really got off to a good start before, it can be said that he mostly chose interesting projects and high-quality productions in which he took part. He also repeatedly finds that, as one of the few black actors in Britain, it is difficult to get a leading role. In America the proportion of African Americans is much larger, so it is natural to see them on TV screens or in the cinema.
Harewood can also be heard from time to time as a presenter on the radio or takes part in radio plays. He dubs computer games and occasionally writes for the Guardian.
Today Harewood lives partly in the USA and in the London district of Streatham. In February 2013 he married his long-term partner Kirsty Hands in Saint James on Bardbados. The couple has two daughters named Maize and Raven. Harewood loves the music of Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits. In general, today he has a great connection to various artistic forms because they are always an extraordinary experience.
The name Harewood goes back to the Earls of Harewood. 250 years ago his ancestors were brought from Africa to the Caribbean as slaves. There they belonged to the Lascelles family, the Earls of Harewood.
Career[]
The star had already made history on the stage as the first black actor to play the Shakespeare character of Othello at the National Theatre in London in 1997.
David played CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in the spy thriller between 2011 and 2012. After leaving Homeland at the end of season 2, David was cast as a core character in the CBS television series, Supergirl (2015).
He also voiced the role of Quinton Cole in the popular video game, Battlefield 3.
In his personal life, Harewood married his long-term partner Kirsty Handy in Barbados - and they have two daughters. They tied the knot in February 2013 in the lush Barbados district of Saint James.
As a mental health ambassador, David has spoken out about his mental health battles over the years. He admitted to using alcohol as a way of dealing with his manic depressive and bipolar disorder-like symptoms - rather than use the medication given to him by doctors. In fact, at one point his mental health got so bad that he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and spent time in a psychiatric ward, being prescribed chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic drug.
Harewood took part in Soccer Aid 2018 as England's celebrity goalkeeper, and he managed to save two penalties during a tense penalty shootout, helping England to win the charity game.
Review[]
Really interesting David Harewood interview, especially the parts about Estes’ relationship with Carrie. A snippet:
I mean I played every scene as if I was still in love with [Carrie]. I mean it wasn’t written that way. It wasn’t supposed to be written that way but, you know, if somebody breaks your marriage up – And I mentioned to Claire, during the pilot I even mentioned it to Alex, that Estes seemed to me to be the type of guy who would tell his wife. I don’t think she found out. He’s such a square guy, that I just thought to myself: she must have just blown his mind. I mean the sex must have been insane. So I think he just thought “This is it. I’m in love,” went to his wife and said “Look, I’m in love. I’m gonna leave you.” And Claire agreed with that’s what freaked her out and she then ran away. And I think if somebody hurts you like that it’s in your heart. So for me every time I got together with Carrie I was trying to bury my emotions,… they were just underneath the surface. - By Sarah Caldwell