Daniel Day-Lewis Accuses Brian Cox of Stirring Conflict Over Method Acting
Daniel Day-Lewis has responded to Brian Cox’s earlier remarks about Method acting, suggesting that Cox has drawn him into an unnecessary debate. In a conversation with the U.K.’s Big Issue, the 68-year-old actor expressed that he had been “inadvertently” pulled into public discussions about the technique.
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently,” Day-Lewis said. “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 and Cox previously collaborated on the 1997 film The Boxer. The Oscar-winning actor made the comments while promoting his new movie, Anemone.
The discussion originated from Cox’s 2023 interview with Variety, where the Succession star, 79, implied that his co-star Jeremy Strong adopted Method acting after spending time with Day-Lewis.
“Of course, Jeremy was Dan Day-Lewis’ assistant. So he’s learned all that stuff from Dan,” Cox had said.
Author’s Summary
Daniel Day-Lewis dismissed Brian Cox’s claims about Method acting, calling the debate unnecessary but leaving the door open to discuss it directly with Cox.