Showtime’s Billions returned for its sixth season last month, but the series was missing some of its familiar faces.
Damian Lewis played Bobby Axelrod, the ambitious hedge fund manager of Axe Capital. Lewis announced he would be departing the series to spend more time with his family in London, where season five of the series was filmed. Lewis’ wife, actress Helen McCroy, died of cancer last spring.
At the end of season five, Axelrod fled to Switzerland. Director Brian Koppelman did say the departure was open-ended. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said, “The goodbyes on Billions and the hellos on Billions are never permanent; nothing is etched in stone. But that said, Damian’s time as a regular on Billions has come to an end.”
“We feel really honored and lucky to have had five years of being able to know that Damian Lewis was Bobby Axelrod,” Koppelman added. “But, again, not saying it’s goodbye forever.” So, there is still hope that Axe will return one day, perhaps if they move production to London? On this is for sure, fans are definitely missing him from the current Billions season.
The actor has been cast in a limited series titled A Spy Among Friends, alongside Guy Pierce. No release date has been set.
Source: https://uproxx.com/tv/why-did-damian-lewis-leave-billions/