Daniel Day-Lewis has defended his process of method acting during a discussion at the London Film Festival.
The Oscar winner, famous for films such as There Will Be Blood and Gangs Of New York, spoke about his career during a talk on Wednesday (October 15), where he was also promoting Anemone, his first film since 2017.
Day-Lewis is known for immersing himself in roles, inhabiting the character he plays even when the cameras are not rolling. It has earned him a reputation as an elusive figure over the years, but the actor said much of the criticism comes from ignorance.
“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” he said (via The Independent). “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.”
He continued: “It is 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.”
Due for release in the UK on November 7, Anemone was written by Day-Lewis and his son, Ronan, who also directs. The film has divided critics, with one declaring it “the worst film Daniel Day-Lewis ever made and the worst he ever will make, unless he and his son are planning a sequel.”
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Recently, Ronan Day-Lewis addressed the label of “nepo baby” given to creatives whose parents are in the industry.
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