Daniel Day-Lewis Refuses Responsibility for Jeremy Strong
While Daniel Day-Lewis was temporarily absent from acting, much speculation arose about his Method acting approach. Brian Cox, who openly dislikes Method acting, suggested that Day-Lewis' intense commitment led to burnout and early retirement. Cox also criticized Jeremy Strong, his co-star on Succession, for adopting Day-Lewis’ Method style.
Day-Lewis Responds to the Criticism
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently. 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 expressed frustration over the assumptions about his influence on Strong's acting approach:
“If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled. But I don’t think it was like that. So I don’t know where the fuck that came from. Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor, I don’t know how he goes about things, but I don’t feel responsible in any way for that.”
Day-Lewis on Method Acting and Influence
Day-Lewis has made clear that Method acting is not a cult and that he does not recruit followers among his co-stars. Jeremy Strong shares this view, describing the Method as “a very solitary thing.”
Summary
Daniel Day-Lewis distances himself from any responsibility over Jeremy Strong’s acting style and rejects the idea that Method acting influenced Strong as suggested by Brian Cox.
Author’s summary: Daniel Day-Lewis firmly denies influencing Jeremy Strong’s Method acting approach and criticizes Brian Cox’s public accusations as unfounded conflicts.