Daniel Day-Lewis is widely known for his method-acting approach. Not only does the actor swing into the characters seamlessly, but this time it’s the Game of Thrones star, Sean Bean, who has praised Day-Lewis.
Bean co-starred with Day-Lewis in the psychological drama film Anemone, and in a recent interview (via USA Today), Sean Bean remembers witnessing Day-Lewis’s method approach firsthand. He said,
We’ve all heard so much about it. It works well for him, and he does stay in character throughout filming.
He was speaking to me with a Sheffield accent all the way through, even if we were having a cup of tea. It just felt like I was talking to a mate of mine from Sheffield – he really caught the accent.
Ronan Day-Lewis Shares a Surreal Memory from Anemone
Anemone is Ronan Day-Lewis’s feature directorial debut, and he co-wrote the film along with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis. Talking about the accent and how the veteran actor immerses himself in the role, his son Ronan said in the interview,
I hope you don’t mind me telling the story, but I answered the phone from you one time – I think it was two weeks before we started shooting – and it was just Ray. It was kind of a surreal experience.
To which Day-Lewis said,
When I get ready for anything, I always hope that the first day is not the kind of great confrontation with the camera that it might be in other circumstances.
He further continued talking about what he hopes, saying,
For me and the people I’m working closely with, it’s a continuation of what’s already taking place. So I try to ease through that transition a good while before we get to the set.
All said and done, it isn’t even a question about how dedicated Day-Lewis has been all these years. Dropping audience loved and adored movies, the actor has ticked all the notions of being a good actor.
But he also decided to leave before returning to the big screen. But alas, it’s Lincoln actor’s return, and here’s what he has to say about it.
Daniel Day-Lewis Reflects on Finding Purpose Again Through Anemone
Conceived as an idea for a short film, it changed something in Day-Lewis. As the days passed, the short story took a big leap and the vision was incepted into a movie.
When Day-Lewis was asked (via The New York Times) whether his creative spark had reignited over the years, noting that he had previously said he would only return to work if his creative furnace began burning again, he said,
I have to find my way to ignoring all of that paraphernalia, but certainly with the sight of the caravans and the cables and the equipment, the heart misses a couple of beats. I hope that it will feel like a continuation of the work that’s already happening, that it’s never like a Day 1.
Either way, for Day-Lewis, this also marks an opportunity to work with his son. Therefore, nothing said then done, his love for acting never disappeared. His previous retirement was fueled by his long-standing discomfort with the public life that comes with fame.
Do you think Daniel Day-Lewis’s return marks the revival of true method acting in modern cinema? Share your thoughts on this.
Anemone is playing in theatres in the US.
