Daniel Day-Lewis Accuses Brian Cox of Creating Conflict Over Method Acting
Daniel Day-Lewis has addressed comments made by Brian Cox about Method acting, suggesting that Cox has created unnecessary tension around the subject. Speaking with the U.K.'s Big Issue, the 68-year-old actor said he was unintentionally drawn into this debate.
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently,” Day-Lewis said while promoting his new film Anemone. “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 and Cox previously collaborated on the 1997 film The Boxer. The tension reportedly arose after Cox, in a 2023 interview with Variety, commented that his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong began exploring Method acting after spending time with Day-Lewis.
“Of course, Jeremy was Dan Day-Lewis’ assistant. So he’s learned all that stuff from Dan,” Cox said at the time.
Cox also implied that Day-Lewis’ deeply immersive process contributed to his decision to step back from acting, a claim Day-Lewis has not publicly confirmed.
Author’s Summary
Daniel Day-Lewis responded calmly to Brian Cox’s remarks about Method acting, calling the debate unnecessary while recognizing Cox as a skilled but outspoken actor.