20 Times Daniel Day-Lewis Went To Truly Wild Lengths For His Film Roles
When you think of method acting, there’s a good chance that Daniel Day-Lewis’ handsome face will pop into your head. The three-time Oscar winner is pretty much synonymous with going all in with his performances, and he transforms himself in ways that few other actors would. Over the years, though, his approach has led to some crazy stories – and a reputation as an eccentric. So here are 20 times that he went to truly wild lengths for the sake of acting.
20. He learned to be a dressmaker
Day-Lewis collaborated with director Paul Thomas Anderson on Phantom Thread from the very beginning of development. He and Anderson, in fact, came up with his character, 1950s’ fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock, together and then Anderson went away to pen the screenplay. During that period Day-Lewis learned dressmaking, including how to sew, cut and drape.
Phantom Thread is, to date, Day-Lewis’ final film role. He announced his retirement from acting in June 2017, months before the film was released. But rumors persisted that he wasn’t retiring to a life of leisure. A source close to the actor told Page Six that he became so enamored with dressmaking that he intended to pursue it professionally. That hasn’t come to pass, as of yet, but who knows what he future holds.
19. He learned to hunt, kill, and cook his own food
Day-Lewis took his method to astonishing lengths when he played Hawkeye in Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans. As The New York Times put it in a 1992 profile, he would go as deep into a character as possible, pushing the very limits of his contract. In this case, he lived life as an 18th century frontiersman.
The actor learned to hunt, kill, and skin animals, as his character would have done back in the era. Mann once admitted, “If he didn’t shoot it, he didn’t eat it.” The flintlock gun he used in the film, too, was always by Day-Lewis’ side, as it would have been at Hawkeye’s. He even reportedly had it with him during Christmas dinner, wrote The New York Times.
