Daniel Day Lewis To Stop Acting: But Maybe It's Just Time To Act Like A Normal Person
(CNN) Daniel Day-Lewis is known for immersing himself in his roles, but this time around it may have ended his acting career. The esteemed actor recently talked to W magazine about his role as couturier Reynolds Woodcock in the forthcoming film "Phantom Thread," directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Day-Lewis got so into character that he learned to sew -- apprenticing for months under the head of the costume department at the New York City Ballet -- and even recreated a Balenciaga sheath dress using his wife, filmmaker Rebecca Miller, as his model.
But the 60 year-old actor said diving into the life of Woodcock and all the drama it entailed also sunk him into a depression.
"Before making the film, I didn't know I was going to stop acting," he said. "I do know that Paul and I laughed a lot before we made the movie. And then we stopped laughing because we were both overwhelmed by a sense of sadness."
Look, if Daniel Day Lewis wants to retire then go for it. He’s obviously an all-time great and has done more than enough to go down as one of the best actors ever. That being said, am I the only one who thinks maybe he should just try acting differently? Look Dan, you’ve got your whole method-acting thing and I’m not trying to critique that. You go all in, you live the character, and you knock every performance out of the park; and up to this point that’s worked for you! But do you ever think that maybe you’re so sad because you’re basically becoming depressed people?
It would be one thing if Day-Lewis was playing happy parts, but he’s not. He’s playing sociopaths, lunatics, and people who are just in terrible situations. At some point you're not even acting anymore, you're just becoming psychopaths. For example, in this new movie he apprenticed for months as a dress maker to the point where he actually replicated a Balenciaga sheath dress, whatever that is. Well at that point, you're no longer pretending to be a dress maker, you are a dress maker. The same logic applies to fleshing out the role of a psycho! If you spend enough time putting yourself in one's shoes, you just become one! I’d be fucking sad too if I took a year out of my life to just live, breath, eat, drink, sleep and cry as any one of his previous parts.
At some point, there’s got to be a compromise. Daniel, have you ever thought about mailing it in for once? Nobody would blame you! Just for once try not losing 60lbs for a part, or spend a month as opposed to a year living in solitary confinement to prepare. I don’t know; take a role in an action movie, or a comedy. Be like the other folks in the business: wrap up a day of shooting, head back to the trailer, maybe watch some Netflix, jerk off, and hit the sheets feeling happy- just normal stuff.
Making movies is hard enough as it is without condemning yourself to a wheelchair for three years because you’re playing a character with Cerebral Palsy. I understand you may not win an Oscar, but you probably wouldn’t want to kill yourself all the time! Hell, maybe you’d even be happy! Maybe retirement is the right move, but when I see how he describes this sense melancholy he gets from his parts, it’s just like WE ALL KNOW WHY YOU’RE SAD DANIEL. YOU ACT LIKE AN INSANE PERSON, THAT’S WHY.
