10 Insane Skills Actors Learned For Movie Roles
4. Daniel Day-Lewis Learned How To Live Like His Native American Character (The Last Of The Mohicans)
Stories of Daniel Day-Lewis' intense method acting could probably fill several of these lists, whether it's him learning how to speak Czech for The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, or learning how to box for his role in The Boxer.
For his role in historical epic The Last Of The Mohicans though, he didn't just acquire one or two new skills - he acquired an entire suite of them.
In the film, Day-Lewis plays a character called Hawkeye, an Englishman who was brought up by Native Americans. Determined to transform himself into his role as much as possible, the actor took it upon himself to learn how to live like his character, resulting in him picking up a wide range of skills.
Spending a month in the woods, Day-Lewis learned how to build canoes, track and skin animals, fight with a tomahawk, and he even practised firing and reloading a flintlock. In fact, he immersed himself in the role to such an extent, that he started carrying the gun everywhere he went - including Christmas dinner.
Just imagine the awkward conversation at that table...