Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has recently come out of retirement to star in his first movie in eight years. The drama Anemone sees Day-Lewis entering the Hollywood spotlight, with many saying that the film could earn him his ninth Oscar nomination. Day-Lewis has always faced some controversy because of his extreme dedication to the craft, which often sees him practicing method acting. Recently, the actor talked about the criticisms of his method acting, saying that they come from people who don’t understand what it actually is.
Per the report by Variety, the legendary performer behind movies like Lincoln, Gangs of New York, and Phantom Thread appeared at the BFI London Film Festival, where he spoke about the highlights of his career, and leaving retirement to work with his son, the director of Anemone. When asked about the process of inhabiting his characters, Day-Lewis addressed the recent comments about his method acting:
“All the recent commentary in the last few years about method acting is invariably from people who have little or no understanding of what it actually involves. It’s almost as if it’s some specious science that we’re involved in, or a cult. But it’s just a way of freeing yourself so that the spontaneity, when you are working with your colleagues in front of the camera, that you are free to respond in any way that you’ll move to in that moment.
“Look, it’s very easy to describe what I do as if I’m out of my mind. Plenty of people have been happy to do that, but it just makes sense to me… You have an obligation to try to understand as far as you’re humanly able to what it feels like to be inside of that experience.”
To expand on his argument, the actor used the example of My Left Foot, Jim Sheridan’s 1989 biopic focusing on Christy Brown. Brown was an artist with cerebral palsy, who was known for only being able to use the toes of his left foot. It was Day-Lewis’ first nomination and win at the Oscars. It’s widely regarded as one of his best performances.
It wasn’t an easy role for the actor. He fully immersed himself through method acting, refusing to do anything that Brown couldn’t do for some time. As proud as the film must make him, Day-Lewis understands that it could have been offensive to some:
“Quite obviously, I would not be able to make that now — at the time it was already questionable. A couple of the kids that helped me so much at the Sandymount Clinic made it clear to me that they didn’t think I should be doing it.
“Because there was no money when I signed up for it, I moved over to Dublin on this wing and a prayer. And there was all the time in the world. I started to work with these wonderful people, I had a little house and I had my paints and my wheelchair and everything I needed. I guess I had a couple of months before we finally scraped enough money to do the first few scenes and I thought, ‘I’m never not going to work like this again.'”
- Birthname
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Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis
- Birthdate
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April 29, 1957
- Birthplace
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Greenwich, London, England, UK