Daniel Day-Lewis fired back at Brian Cox after he was “inadvertently” dragged into the “Succession” star’s vocal criticism of method acting.
While speaking to Big Issue, the three-time Oscar winner addressed Cox’s heated stance on method acting — admitting he was a bit caught off guard by his fellow actor’s comments.
“Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently,” Day-Lewis said. “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.”
He continued: “If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled. 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.”
Cox first made method acting criticism back in 2021 when talking about his co-star Strong’s approach to playing Kendall Roy on the HBO drama. In the interview, Cox said Strong’s performance was a product of Day-Lewis’ famed method acting – something he called a uniquely “American disease.” He doubled down on his claims in 2023.
“He’s a very good actor,” Cox told the magazine. “And the rest of the ensemble is all OK with this. But knowing a character and what the character does is only part of the skill set.” When asked if he finds Strong’s approach annoying, Cox responded, “Oh, it’s f–ing annoying. Don’t get me going on it.”
Strong also commented on Cox’s method acting thoughts in his own profile for GQ. In a nutshell, he said that Cox has earned the right to say and think however he wants on the acting process at this point in his career.
“Everyone’s entitled to have their feelings. I also think Brian Cox, for example, he’s earned the right to say whatever the f–k he wants,” Strong noted. “There was no need to address that or do damage control … I feel a lot of love for my siblings and my father on the show. And it is like a family in the sense that, and I’m sure they would say this, too, you don’t always like the people that you love. I do always respect them.”
