Peter Lewis has an infectious grin and a Beatles-style haircut courtesy of his girlfriend, Emily Peterson.
His favorite actor is Daniel Day-Lewis (no relation), and his favorite jazz musician is Charlie “Yardbird” Parker.
And he registered perfect scores on the SAT and ACT.
As he plays the piano at his home in east Denver, the melody floats outside into the cool fall air.
Lewis also plays the flute, saxophone, accordion, drums and theremin — a musical instrument invented in 1919 that can be played without being touched.
Lewis is also an actor, having played Lord Hastings in “Richard III,” Touchstone in “As You Like It” and, in a role-reversal production, Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth.”
He has done all this in the first 18 years of his life.
This time next year, he hopes to be at Yale University, following in the footsteps of his brother, Dan, and his father, Hal. Lewis has already applied and plans to major in mathematics.
He says a number of universities have expressed interest in him — hardly surprising. Lewis, a straight-A student at George Washington High School, has made many proud.
Achieving perfect scores on both college-admission exams is no easy feat.
“(That) may not be a one-in-a-million occurrence, but it comes awfully close,” said officials at George Washington. “Roughly one in 5,000 students will score either 2,400 on the SAT or 36 on the ACT, and we can only imagine the odds against any one student achieving perfect scores on both tests.”
The tremendously laid-back Lewis says he never gets angry, although occasionally he may have a hint of a negative feeling.
“I never, ever had a problem with my parents,” he said. “We never fight. They are just the kindest — really courageous people.”
Both Hal and Jeanne Gise-Lewis are psychologists.
“I have never been paddled. I have this false memory of being spanked once,” he said with that smile.
He’s also close to his older sister, Katie, and his brother, a Yale student who was seriously injured in 2007 while cycling across the country as part of a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.
In his basement recording studio, Lewis cut his first full-length CD, “By Popular Supply.” All proceeds will go toward his brother’s medical expenses.
For Lewis, life is good — great parents, a girlfriend he calls “the most fantastic girl I’ve ever known” and schools knocking at his door.
“I am optimistic about the future,” he said, “but I’m an optimistic guy.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
