Daniel Day-Lewis: 5 Awesome Performances With 5 Insane Preparations
1. Gangs Of New York
What I havent really established yet is that though Day-Lewis is nearly always capable of towering, mesmeric performances, these performances often really, really annoy the cast and crew around him. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Scorseses epic Gangs of New York. As Im sure youre all aware, he played Bill The Butcher Cutting, a crime-boss and pillar of the ultra-violent Five Points community. To prepare for the role, he did all the Day-Lewis trademarks he became a butcher, learned how to throw knives with deadly accuracy, lived like he was in the 19th century and last but certainly not least, never, ever dropped character. Its in the last part where the insanity lies. As Ive already mentioned, Day-Lewis doesnt like to drop character when on set. However, if the shoot of Gangs of New York is to be believed, he doesnt like to do it in the actors hotel as well. It might be a good thing to have someone so dedicated to their craft, but to other actors who dont ascribe to the same methodology as Day-Lewis, it can be extremely, intolerably annoying. Case in point, Liam Neeson and Leonardo Di Caprio; they reportedly cant stand Day-Lewis because he just wouldnt stop referring to them with their characters names, even when in the hotel gym. Even when asked, he just couldnt bring himself to stop, nor drop the American accent hed acquired for the film. I can understand why this would be annoying. All Neeson was attempting to do was get his sweat on at the gym, and you dont really want Bill the Butcher interrupting you at this point. Especially a Bill whos being kept constantly aggressive by listening to Eminem on repeat in his room, and swearing at passers-by for the hell of it. Maybe you could do this on set, Daniel, but in the weights room? Theres surely a limit. Though he would later throw actual life-threatening bowling balls at Paul Dano in the There Will Be Blood milkshake scene (you know what that is, dont play that game), this particular piece of actor-baiting still stands out in the insanity pantheon after all, who dares insult a man who would later tear up Paris? The most remarkable thing is this wasnt the most insane thing he did on set. Let me explain: the filming of Gangs was blighted by heavy rains, but to most people, this would be ok you just stick on a thick coat/mac, dry yourself off and continue. However, because macs didnt exist in the 19th century, they sure as hell didnt exist to Day-Lewis, at least not for the period of filming. He therefore proceeded to wear wholly unsuitable 19th century clothing to the extent that he actually caught pretty life-threatening pneumonia. This couldve derailed the shoot or, you know, killed him. Concerned crew members recommended he go see a doctor, but once again, if modern healthcare didnt exist in the 19th century, they didnt exist to Day-Lewis. He demanded to be treated with dangerous 19th century medicine. Obviously, nobody else was quite ready to board this crazy train with Daniel, so they left him be. It took his actual physical collapse to persuade him to drop the character and go get treated for the serious illness he was carrying. This stands out above everything else for a simple reason: while all other, non-character-dropping performances on set probably eventually worked out to help the film, this time it surely didnt. By refusing to drop the character, he arguably endangered both the film and his life. Not only did it show that Day-Lewis cared about his character more than the actual film which in itself is a scary thought it made it clear that he was willing to risk his life for his craft. Thats just insane. However, the performance was awesome, scoring an Oscar nomination and eventual outcry when he didnt win. If you want all the proof in the world over whether going to such pains to portray a character is worth it, just watch the scene when he sits at Amsterdams bedside, draped in an American flag, and speaks of his father, the only man he ever really thought worthy of respect; its utterly electrifying. So though Day-Lewis preparation is undoubtedly insane, it does tend to lead to great performances such as this and the comparatively tamer There Will Be Blood (he only lived in a makeshift tent in the desert to prepare for that one, seems lazy by comparison). If he continues to churn them out, I dont care how many film crews he may annoy he should shine on like the crazy diamond he is. After all, therell always be plenty of Oscars in it for him. What do you think? Feel free to comment!