NBOC (Nicholas Brody On Campus): Homeland star drops into the Robbo

Damian Lewis, the star of Homeland, popped in the Robbo earlier this week for a quick reading session.

And it’s about time – since Princess Eugenie left last summer, the Robinson library has been lacking somewhat of a celebrity feel.

Newcastle Uni were quick to proudly tweet a picture of the actor alongside archivist Geraldine Hunwick.

Damian Lewis with Geraldine Hunwick at the Robbo.

But it wasn’t a textbook off this term’s reading list he was after. The actor delved into the library’s archives to do some character research for a new film by gaining an insight into the life of the North-East’s Gertrude Bell.

And it looks like students have been keeping their heads down – despite being in a library packed with panicked pre-exam crammers, he went unseen by most library goers.

So it was a serious case of FOMO for many students:

And it seems like he’s a bit of a ladies man – Lewis set hearts racing after hoards of females took to Twitter to vent their dismay at missing the star.

The London-born thespian is set to star alongside Nicole Kidman, who will play Gertrude Bell in the new film. University Librarian Wayne Connolly said Damian Lewis “was extremely interested” in the university’s archive, as it contains information relevant to his on-screen relationship with Nicole.

The series for which he is better known, Homeland, is a political drama with a fourth series due to air this year.