Daniel Day-Lewis is arguably the most famous method actor in the history of film.
The world-renowned actor has a tendency to show up once every few years, shoot a movie, collect his awards and hibernate until his next classic film is booked.
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Day-Lewis, 60, has gone to extreme lengths to embody his characters in past films: he apprenticed with an actual butcher for his role as Bill “The Butcher” in “Gangs of New York” and refused to break character both on and off-screen for his leading role in “Lincoln”.
Oh, and don’t ever forget how the actor refused to use his hands for his role as the celebrated painter cerebral palsy-inflicted Christie Brown in “My Left Foot”.
Day-Lewis’ streak continued in his latest movie, “Phantom Tread”. Speaking with W Magazine, the actor revealed how he remade a Balenciaga sheath dress from scratch in preparation for his starring role.
“The Balenciaga dress was very simple,” he said. “Or at least it looked very simple until I had to figure out a way to make it and then realized, My God, this is incredibly complicated,” said Day-Lewis. “There is nothing more beautiful in all the arts than something that appears simple.”
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Continuing, “And if you try to do any goddamn thing in your life, you know how impossible it is to achieve that effortless simplicity. Rebecca was very patient. The code that I had to crack was a very particular gusset in the armpit. You couldn’t tell from the photos how the gusset was designed. Rebecca has worn the dress. It’s very pretty.”
Day-Lewis, who was remarkably honoured as Best Actor at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards for his 2012 role in “Lincoln”, is currently nominated for Best Actor for “Phantom Thread” at the 2018 Golden Globes.
