“You can’t have a paper coffee cup”

Tim Blake Nelson recalls the extreme nature of working on Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. Nelson is an actor who is best known for his roles in films like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, O brother, where art thou?And the incredible hulk, And he played Richard Schell in Lincoln. The Spielberg movie features a leading cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones.

Talk to The Hollywood ReporterNelson explains how deep work on Lincoln was. According to Nelson, lead actor Day-Lewis managed to “Commit not only yourself, but the entire production to a work ethic and to aesthetic principles in terms of the process.” What this means is that “There are never any anachronisms on set,“ Affecting everything from how people dressed to what they were allowed to bring on set. Check out Nelson’s full statement below:

Then working with Daniel Day Lewis [on Lincoln] was another extreme, and how he was able to commit not only himself, but the entire production to a work ethic and to aesthetic principles in terms of the process that only highlighted, not only what he was to, but what everyone Around him was up to too. Just the fact that at Lincoln, nobody was allowed to wear t-shirts with logos on them. There are never any anachronisms on set.

You couldn’t have a paper coffee cup. You had to have something that was made from materials that would have been available in the late 19th century. So no shorts. No sneakers. Steven [Spielberg] Wore a blazer to direct every day, and a button down shirt. No iPhones, did I mention that? It just brought everything up a level. And of course all the stuff that everyone knows about him: that he stays in character, that he can only be spoken like Lincoln. And that he did it in a way that didn’t bother anyone—it certainly didn’t bother me—and it made the set a more disciplined place in a really good way. Which I think shows in the film.

Now when I direct, do I make similar demands? No, I wouldn’t dare. But I would if an actor wanted that and it felt reasonable and doable. But I loved the process. I love being a part of that. And it only made me better. It made me take what I was doing more seriously. Every movie I’ve done has some version of this. I am here in Hungary now [on a Mona Fastvold film] And the story and the seriousness of the crew and the gratitude of the crew here, that the production is here instead of somewhere else, the language barrier, it all makes for its own unique agglutination of approaches and forces that we bring to tell our story. .

Why did Lincoln have such strict rules

Daniel Day-Lewis is known to be a method actor

The full list of requirements for the Lincoln Set was extensive, and Nelson mentions that Day-Lewis was a key driving factor in the final decision. The Actor is known for doing method actingWhich sees him trying to completely transform into roles by staying in character even when cameras aren’t rolling. Nelson refers to this in his quote, saying that Day-Lewis “Can only be spoken as LincolnAs such, the actor was using his more typical method acting methods on set, but this time projecting the strategy onto his castmates.

Although it sounds like Lincoln Was one of the most all-encompassing examples, Day-Lewis has used his method acting strategies on a number of other famous films. This included his 2017 film Phantom threadwhere He spent years learning how to make dresses from scratch to better capture his role as an obsessive costume designer. To play John Proctor in The CrucibleHe lived a 17th century farming lifestyle two months before filming, and for In the name of the FatherHe locked himself in one.

Do the methods of Daniel Day Lewis pay off?

Lincoln is well-received

Although day-to-day requirements for the Lincoln Set were a little extreme, they paid off for the film. I’m not alone in saying that Day-Lewis sold me on his performance as the 16th president of the United States; Lincoln was critically acclaimed, with praise especially commending the leading performance. Day-Lewis won an Oscar for Best Actor for LincolnAnd the film was nominated for multiple other awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor. As extreme as the trend was, Lincoln Today, it remains one of the most talked about films in Day Lewis’ career.

Next Lincoln, Day-Lewis has also won Oscars for There will be blood And My left legAnd the last one was yet another example of the actor taking his method to the extreme. According to reports, Lewis began immersing himself in the role by visiting a clinic for people with cerebral palsy. However, he ended up taking things even further when he forced the crew to feed him his food and carry him between sets, just like his real-life character. He also used his wheelchair outside of the set, including in restaurants and more.

Looking back on Day-Lewis’ career, I can’t help but wonder if all these examples of method acting are completely necessary. It is one thing for the actor to go to great lengths for his roles, but quite another for him to involve castmates or other crew members so heavily in the process. Whatever I or anyone else can say about the actor, however, one thing is clear: Day-Lewis is a great performer. Whether he is banning iPhones on the trend of Lincoln Or be spoon-fed for My left legThese imperial experiences have already guided Louis in his career.

Source: THR