How To Be The Best - Daniel Day-Lewis’ Way

 

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Academy Winner: Best Actor. Three times. That is a feat that no one has achieved, except for Daniel Day-Lewis. The moody-looking, son of Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis, took his first Oscar gong for Best Actor in My Left Foot (1990), his second in 2008 for There Will Be Blood, and just this week took the third  for his role in Spielberg's Lincoln.

So what makes Daniel Day-Lewis special? Is he just lucky? Or was any of the three awards a mistake, you know, may be someone else deserved it more?

In any case, whatever you think of him, many people who have worked with him says he takes his art seriously and has a unique way to work.

As a writer, I am curious to learn Daniel Day-Lewis' approach to work. I want to know how he became one of the best around. As I read more about him, I discovered three things that makes him unique.

1. Fussy Bunny

Day-Lewis is reported to be very choosy of the roles he takes in the movie business. He is said to always agonised over the roles to accept and which ones to drop. Take this – he has starred in just six films over the past fifteen years.

Daniel Day-Lewis picked up Oscars in 1990, 2008 and now in 2013

2. Long Preparation Ritual

This point is an explanation of the above point. I learnt that the reason Day-Lewis is fussy about taking roles is because of the huge amount of preparation he puts into his characters. He was reported to have prepared for a year for his role in Lincoln. When he emerged from his preparation to the set, it was said that his voice had become quite close to Abe Lincoln’s actual tenor-ish, reedy voice.

3. Immersion

I am not talking about water baptism. Actually, this is name of the style Day-Lewis is reported to use to get to know his characters. Basically, he studies everything he needs to know about them and try and stay in the character almost every time and everywhere he is. Even when off the set, it is known that Day-Lewis still sometimes stay in character. He once said, "What would drain me much more, in my case, is jumping in and out of that world that we've gone to such an inordinate length to create for ourselves."In January, 2013, he told the BBC that his acting method made "complete sense" to him. "All you're trying to do is lay the groundwork, which might allow the imagination to free itself," he said.

Having gone through the above points, it is clear to see some of the price Daniel Day-Lewis pays to be what he is today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator by Sofia Warren - Book Recommendation

Image
Books that discuss politics can be boring to some, but such people might want to make an exception for this one. Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator is a first-hand witness account of a cartoonist's time with Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old democratic socialist running for state senate in New York. Most of what the book material is about are what the cartoonist witnessed during the first year of Salazar's term by embedding herself with the young senator's team for about a year. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK One of the best tools of journalism is witnessing a situation about which you are reporting first-hand. This way, you get to understand your subject with little or no filtering. Radical is a book with lots of eye-opening information on politics, money, and how these forces have an impact on everyone's lives... more than we know or care to admit. DISLIKES None. WHO IS IT FOR This is for any adult who wants to understand politics without getting bored. Many
Read more

Forgotten Blade by Tze Chun & Toni Fejzul - A Review

Image
Forgotten Blade is a fantasy story set in the land of Five Rivers. It is a tale of a female magician who enlisted the help of a mercenary to topple a theocratic government in revenge for the curse placed on her two children. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK Forgotten Blade is a beautifully drawn book. The uniqueness and style of the art stand out in the midst of a tale that seems familiar. DISLIKES The plot is predictable and holds little or no surprise. WHO IS IT FOR Fans of epic fantasy may enjoy the art and possibilities Forgotten Blade has to offer. Many thanks to TKO Presents for providing a review copy.
Read more

Yellow Cab by Benoît Cohen & Christophe Chabouté - Book Recommendation

Image
Going into a new career as a middle-aged person can be disorienting or empowering, depending on your circumstances or outlook on life. One thing that cannot be dismissed is the insight and understanding a new career or employment gives. It has the potential to open us to a side of life we may have overlooked or never noticed before. Yellow Cab is an autobiography (graphic novel) of a filmmaker called Benoît Cohen who, devoid of inspiration for his next film, decided to become a New York City taxi driver. What follows is his insights and documentation about the streets of New York - its people, its prejudices, and its politics. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK The characters in the book are interesting and mysterious. Even though some of them appear for a brief time, there is a liveliness to them that makes me hang on to their every word. The art has this kind of depressing quality to it... I expect it to bum me out but I quite like it actually as it fits the mood of the book. DIS
Read more