7. Daniel Day-Lewis Fell Down A Mine Shaft And Broke A Rib For There Will Be Blood
Tales of method acting insanity from Daniel Day-Lewis are legion (though his output does beg the question of, if it works this well, is it actually all worth it?), and the actor's suffered numerous injuries on film sets as a result of him trying to get to the "truth", or whatever. For The Boxer, the actor trained for three years to become a convincing slugger, his training resulting in a broken nose and a herniated disc, while for Gangs Of New York he almost died of pneumonia because he initially refused modern medical treatment. Less-reported is an incident which occurred on the set of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, which would bag Day-Lewis his second Oscar for Best Actor. At the beginning of the film, Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview is seen digging for silver down a California mine shaft - a 50-foot mine shaft, to be precise, that Day-Lewis would fall down, breaking a rib. His director's response: "Its probably not a movie until Daniel breaks a rib or two".
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
