Daniel Day-Lewis Distances Himself from Jeremy Strong
During his time away from acting, Daniel Day-Lewis found himself the subject of renewed debate over his approach to Method acting. Critics, including Brian Cox, suggested that Day-Lewis’ intense immersion in roles led to burnout and early retirement. Cox also lamented that his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong might have drawn his own acting methods from Day-Lewis.
Day-Lewis Responds to the Criticism
“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 told Big Issue magazine.
He went on to dismiss the notion that he influenced Cox or Strong in any significant way.
“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. So I don’t know where that came from. Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor, I don’t know how he goes about things, but I don’t feel responsible in any way for that.”
The Method Acting Debate Continues
Day-Lewis has previously stressed that Method acting is not a movement or philosophy meant to recruit followers like Strong. In his view, each performer approaches their craft individually and without obligation to any particular technique. Strong himself once reflected similarly:
“It’s a very solitary thing.”
Author’s Summary
Day-Lewis rejects claims that he influenced Jeremy Strong’s acting style, emphasizing personal independence in artistic methods and dismissing ongoing speculation about Method acting.