Cinema Science

I was having an email conversation today with Lauren and the topic of Daniel Day-Lewis being a method actor came up. Apparently the Guardian knew of this conversation because they have a long article on the man that ends with tales of his preparation for some of his key film.

My Left Foot (1989)
Director: Jim Sheridan

To portray Christy Brown, the Irish artist who suffered from cerebral palsy and was only able to control his left foot, Daniel Day-Lewis asked to be wheeled around the set in his wheelchair, and crew members were required to spoonfeed him and lift him around. He damaged two ribs during filming from hunching in his wheelchair for weeks on end. He taught himself to paint using a knife held between his toes, and studied disabled patients at Sandymount School and Clinic in Dublin. Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Oscar.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Dir: Michael Mann

Day-Lewis played Hawkeye, a British man adopted by Mohican warriors who is forced to fight during the French and Indian War of the mid-18th century. To get into shape for this particularly physical role, Day-Lewis underwent rigorous weight training during which he added 20lb of muscle to his body. Not content with that, he also learnt to live off the land and forest, as his character would have done, by spending six months learning how to camp, fish and skin animals. By the end of his training he had built himself a canoe. He also carried a Kentucky rifl e at all times during filming and learnt how to load and fire it while running.

In the Name of the Father (1993)
Dir: Jim Sheridan

For the part of Gerry Conlon, who was wrongly convicted of the Guildford pub bombing in 1974 and jailed for 15 years, Day-Lewis lived on prison rations to lose 30 lb and spent extended periods in the jail cell on set, while crew hurled abuse and cold water at him.

The Crucible (1996)
Dir : Nicholas Hytner

For this adaptation of the classic Arthur Miller play based on the Salem witch trials of 1692, Day-Lewis went back in time. He stayed on a Massachusetts island in the film set's replica village - without electricity or running water - planted fields with 17th- century tools, and built his character's house.

The Boxer (1997)
Dir: Jim Sheridan

Day-Lewis played a former IRA member and boxer just out of prison. He traine with former world champion Barry McGuigan, who said he could have been a professional: 'He was in the gym twice a day, seven days a week for nearly three years.' Injuries included a broken nose and a herniated disc in his lower back.

Gangs of New York (2002)
Dir: Martin Scorsese

To become 'Bill the Butcher', Day-Lewis hired circus performers to teach him how to throw daggers and trained as a butcher. He got pneumonia during shooting, initially refusing to have treatment or trade his coat for a warmer one.