Daniel Day-Lewis takes no responsibility for Jeremy Strong
During his time away from acting, Daniel Day-Lewis became the subject of much discussion about his approach to Method acting. Actor Brian Cox, who has long criticized the Method, suggested that Day-Lewis’s deep commitment to the craft may have contributed to his early retirement. He also lamented that his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong might have adopted Day-Lewis’s techniques.
Day-Lewis made it clear he wants no part in this debate and dismissed any link between his methods and Strong’s acting style.
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently. 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,”
Day-Lewis added that he would be disturbed if he had ever interfered with Cox’s work but saw no reason to believe that had happened.
“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... Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor, I don’t feel responsible in any way for that.”
He maintained that Method acting is not a doctrine he asks others to follow, nor does he think it strongly influences those around him.
“It’s a very solitary thing.”
Author’s Summary
Day-Lewis distanced himself from claims linking his Method acting to Jeremy Strong’s work, emphasizing independence in each actor’s creative process.