Daniel Day-Lewis hits out at Brian Cox over method acting criticism

‘His success has given him a soapbox he shows no sign of climbing down from,’ actor said

Daniel Day-Lewis has hit out at Brian Cox’s criticism of the method acting style he adopts when playing roles.

The three-time Oscar winner said he has inadvertently been drawn into a “handbags-at-dawn conflict” over their views on the subject.

Day-Lewis suggested that the success of Cox, with whom he worked on 1998 film The Boxer, has given him a soapbox “which he shows no sign of climbing down from”.

He accused the actor of misrepresenting the craft as being attached to “some kind of lunacy”.

“Brian is a very fine actor who’s done extraordinary work,” he toldThe Big Issue. “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.”

The 68-year-old, known for using method techniques that focus on psychological and physical immersion, is said to have lived in a tent on a deserted Texan oil field during the making of There Will Be Blood (2007) and spent two or three days in a prison cell without food and water to play Guildford Four member Gerry Conlon for In The Name Of The Father (1993).

He continued: “I just don’t like it being misrepresented to the extent it has been.

“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.

“They focus on ‘oh, he lived in a jail cell for six months’. Those are the least important details. In all the performing arts, people find their methods as a means to an end.

“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.

Day-Lewis alongside Sean Bean in Anemone (Focus Features)

“So it p****s me off this whole ‘Oh, he went full method’ thing. What the f***, you know? Because it’s invariably attached to the idea of some kind of lunacy.

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“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.”

In 2023, Succession star Brian Cox criticised the use of method acting by his co-star Jeremy Strong, and added: “Of course, Jeremy was Dan Day-Lewis’ assistant. So he’s learned all that stuff from Dan.”

“If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled,” said Day-Lewis on Strong’s acting. “But I don’t think it was like that.

“So I don’t know where the f*** that came from. Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor. I don’t know how he goes about things, but I don’t feel responsible in any way for that.”

The actor’s career has seen him bag three best actor Oscars: in 1990 for playing wheelchair-bound Christy Brown in My Left Foot, in 2008 for playing oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, and in 2013 for his portrayal of the former US president in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

Day-Lewis has won three Oscars during his celebrated career, including his lead performance in ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007) (PA)

He recently made a return to acting to star in psychological drama Anemone – the first feature film from his director son Ronan Day-Lewis.

In 2017, a statement from Day-Lewis’s representative said the actor – also known for his powerful performance as Hawkeye in Michael Mann’s 1992 epic The Last Of The Mohicans – had retired from acting.

Fears this was a permanent move were created by what he now calls an “ill-advised statement”, which read: “Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor.”

Additional reporting by Agencies