Daniel Day-Lewis is known to be an effective method actor, and in one of his famous roles, he pushed himself to the edge and demanded a lot from the team in order to deliver an exemplary performance.
Tim Blake Nelson costarred with Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg’s 2012 war drama film, Lincoln. The actor revealed every single thing that the latter requested on set, as well as shared what it was like to act alongside the Oscar-winning star.
Daniel Day-Lewis Prohibited Modern Items On The Set Of Lincoln
In a podcast interview via Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, actor Tim Blake Nelson shared his experience working with Daniel Day-Lewis. He said “the transformation is so comprehensive, molecular” that he did not even feel he was with an actor. “It felt as though I were with the president of the United States,” he joked.
Nelson enumerated all the things Day-Lewis demanded on the set, including “no anachronisms, T-shirts weren’t allowed, only dark shoes and no jeans, no paper cups.”
He said that it was not “neurotic” but more like “I don’t want overt anachronisms.” They could have a porcelain cup on the set, just not a paper cup. Nelson carried a tin cup with him since he drinks espresso every morning.
No cameras, no phones, obviously, and I found that actually to be very salutary. It was really helpful, and it made all of our performances better. It made all of us more disciplined. It made you more enthusiastic to be on the set because it was a special and sacred place.
Even though there were a lot of rules on the movie set, Nelson claimed it came in very handy in instilling order and creating a more focused work ethic. It also helped Day-Lewis internalize his role as United States President Abraham Lincoln.
Apart from forbidding the use of modern articles, Day-Lewis also read about 100 books on Lincoln, lost weight, and worked with a makeup artist for almost a year to transform himself in a way that he would have a striking physical resemblance with the former president.
Daniel Day-Lewis Made Himself Believe He Was Abraham Lincoln
In his interview with film producer Husam Asi, Day-Lewis shared how he prepared for his role in Lincoln.
My approach was the same approach I have to any piece of work which is to try and to create an understanding for myself in a very personal way of a life. I had a year to prepare, and at a certain moment, the books are put to one side and the real work begins.
The actor claimed it would be “preposterously arrogant” to say he had any similarities with Lincoln, though he was surprised to discover the humor behind the impenetrably sympathetic image of the former president.
It took him a year to fully prepare for the movie which he finds quite a pleasurable experience. According to the actor, he would “choose to believe for a period of time” that he was Abraham Lincoln. “It really is just that simple game of make-believe,” he quipped.
Lincoln is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
