Daniel Day-Lewis has answered Brian Cox’s criticism of method acting, but only after being dragged into it.
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Brian Cox has been very vocal about his disapproval of Jeremy Strong’s method acting. He once brought up Daniel Day-Lewis when explaining that such intense acting methods can lead to burnout. “Like, to me, Daniel Day-Lewis got worn out at 55 and decided to retire because [he] couldn’t go on doing that every day,” he said.”
Speaking to the Big Issue, Daniel Day-Lewis has finally responded.
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently,” he said. “Brian is a very fine actor who’s done extraordinary work. As a result, he’s been given a soapbox… which he shows no sign of climbing down from.
“Any time he wants to talk about it, I’m easy to find.”
Daniel Day-Lewis felt he doesn’t “feel responsible” for how Jeremy Strong acts. “Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor, I don’t know how he goes about things,” he said. “If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled. But I don’t think it was like that.”
“So I don’t know where the f–k that came from.”
Daniel Day-Lewis Hates The Bad Rep Method Acting Has Received
The There Will Be Blood actor moved on to talk about method acting, and the bad rep it’s received over the years.
“I just don’t like it being misrepresented to the extent it has been,” he explained. “I can’t think of a single commentator who’s gobbed off about the method that has any understanding of how it works and the intention behind it.”
Daniel Day-Lewis explained method acting as a “means to an end.” He said “It’s with the intention of freeing yourself so you present your colleagues with a living, breathing human being they can interact with. It’s very simple.”
“So it p–ses me off this whole ‘oh, he went full method’ thing. What the f–k, you know? Because it’s invariably attached to the idea of some kind of lunacy.”
“I choose to stay and splash around, rather than jump in and out or play practical jokes with whoopee cushions between takes or whatever people think is how you should behave as an actor,” he concluded, referencing Jared Leto’s infamous ‘method acting’ on the set of Suicide Squad.