Daniel Day-Lewis Distances Himself from Jeremy Strong
While Daniel Day-Lewis stepped away from acting, discussions emerged about his intense Method acting style. Brian Cox, a known critic of Method acting, suggested that Day-Lewis’ dedication to the craft contributed to his early retirement. Cox also expressed regret that his "Succession" co-star Jeremy Strong appeared to follow in Day-Lewis’ Method footsteps.
Day-Lewis Responds to the Controversy
“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, somewhat menacingly.
He added that he does not believe he affected Cox’s working process and expressed no responsibility for Strong’s approach to acting.
“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 the fuck 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.”
Clarifying the Role of Method Acting
Previously, Day-Lewis dismissed the idea that Method acting is a cult or that he recruited followers like Strong. Jeremy Strong has echoed this by describing the approach as “a very solitary thing.”
Summary
Daniel Day-Lewis firmly distances himself from any influence over Jeremy Strong’s acting methods and denies responsibility for perceptions linked to his own Method acting style.