Daniel Day-Lewis to Brian Cox: ‘Get Off Your Soap Box’ After Scottish Star Critiques Method Acting

Daniel Day-Lewis has shared his bemusement at being reluctantly drawn into a public disagreement with Brian Cox after the Scottish actor dismissed his favoured acting style as ‘American s**t.’  

Day-Lewis has returned to the big screen Anemone, an independent feature both written and directed by his son Ronan, some eight years after announcing his second retirement from the industry. 

But his adherence to Method acting, an intense rehearsal technique through which the actor attempts to channel a given character’s inner motivations and emotions through lived experience, was dismissed by Cox during a 2023 interview with Variety. 

Cox blamed the rigorous process, which has also been favoured by acting legends such as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Christian Bale, for affecting Jeremy Strong while they worked together on hit HBO drama Succession. 

Reflecting on the unwanted disagreement, Day-Lewis, 68, told the Big Issue: ‘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. 

Daniel Day-Lewis (left) has expressed bemusement at being drawn into a disagreement with Brian Cox (right) after the Scottish actor dismissed his favoured acting style as ‘American s**t’ 

Cox blamed the rigorous Method acting process for affecting Jeremy Strong while they worked together on hit HBO drama Succession (pictured)

‘Any time he wants to talk about it, I’m easy to find.’ 

Cox previously starred with Day-Lewis in 1997 film The Boxer, during which a then-unknown Strong served as the Irish actor’s assistant. 

But Day-Lewis insists he has no idea how Strong, best known for his portrayal of ruthless businessman Kendall Roy in Succession, prepares for any given role.  

‘If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled,’ he said. 

‘But I don’t think it was like that. So I don’t know where the f**k 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.’ 

The Irish star also dismissed previous claims that his 2017 retirement was prompted by the self-imposed pressures of Method acting.  

‘I can’t think of a single commentator who’s gobbed off about the method that has any understanding of how it works and the intention behind it,’ he said.

‘In all the performing arts, people find their methods as a means to an end. It’s with the intention of freeing yourself so you present your colleagues with a living, breathing human being they can interact with. It’s very simple. 

Day-Lewis has returned to the big screen Anemone, an independent feature both written and directed by his son Ronan, some eight years after announcing his second retirement

Cox previously starred with Day-Lewis in 1997 film The Boxer (pictured), during which a then-unknown Strong served as the Irish actor’s assistant

‘So it p***es me off this whole “oh, he went full method” thing. What the f**k, you know? Because it’s invariably attached to the idea of some kind of lunacy.’ 

But Cox, who initially dismissed Method acting in his 2021 memoir Putting The Rabbit In The Hat, believes his Succession co-star’s association with Day-Lewis served as the catalyst for his use of Method acting, a technique derived from legendary Russian and Soviet actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski’s approach to characterisation. 

‘It’s really a cultural clash,’ he told Variety in 2023. ‘I don’t put up with all that American s**t. I’m sorry. All that sort of “I think, therefore I feel.” Just do the job. Don’t identify.’  

He added: ‘Of course, Jeremy was Dan Day-Lewis’ assistant. So he’s learned all that stuff from Dan.’  

Cox believes his Succession co-star’s association with Day-Lewis served as the catalyst for his use of Method acting