Lewis once worked as a telemarketer selling car alarms, a job he detested. His first television appearance was as a rakish student in an early episode of the English drama series A Touch Of Frost (1993) . He appeared in "Robinson Crusoe" (1997) as Patrick Conner. He appeared in Jonathan Kent's production of "Hamlet", playing Laertes. This production was seen by Steven Spielberg, who later cast Lewis as Richard Winters in "Band of Brothers", the first role of several that required him to have a credible American accent.