He may have retired seven years ago, but Daniel Day Lewis remains one of the most famous and respected actors in the world.
Throughout his forty-year career, the 67-year-old British legend has appeared in box office hits such as Gangs of New York, The Last of the Mohicans and There Will Be Blood.
In 1990, the father of three, who came out of retirement to appear in his son’s new film, scored his first Oscar for the fairly low-budget biopic My Left Foot, but in today’s world, the reception of the movie would be drastically affected. differ.
While the casting decision may have been a no-brainer at the time, the fact that Daniel is a healthy man would have impacted whether he landed the role of an artist with cerebral palsy by today’s standards.
As disabled and neurodiverse actors have gained more visibility and representation in the film industry in recent years, there is a growing demand for disabled actors to play disabled roles, a call even echoed by the director of My Left Foot, Jim Sheridan.
Pictured: Daniel Day Lewis with co-star Brenda Fricker at the 1990 Oscars, where they both won awards for My Left Foot.
Speaking to Sky News in 2021, Sheridan said he no longer believes “it’s right” for able-bodied actors to play disabled characters as Daniel does in My Left Foot, adding that today it’s a “different world and you’d be forced to.” .
It’s a phenomenon that critics today refer to as “debilitation,” including 2021 Paralympic opening ceremony co-editor Jenny Sealey, who said deaf and disabled people should play those roles.
And today, Sheridan believes the same thing as Sealy, telling the media outlet, “I don’t think you can make it today.” I don’t think you can do it without trying to find someone with a physical disability.
While his thoughts have changed, the 75-year-old director is still under the impression that actor Lewis did an “amazing” job on the film, adding that he showed respect to the “handicapped kids” on set by staying in character. throughout the entire process. the 20 weeks of filming.
The drama tells the real-life story of Irish artist Christy Brown, who was born in Dublin in 1932 and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Although his family was initially told that Christy would be completely disabled, the artist later developed the use of his left foot and showed great talent for painting and writing.
When it was published in 1954, Christy’s autobiography, which detailed his upbringing as one of 13 surviving siblings in a working-class family, became an instant best-seller.
Building on the success of A Room with a View and My Beautiful Laundry, Daniel was chosen to star in the adaptation of My Left Foot, which premiered in February 1989.
In her youth, Christy’s cerebral palsy was so severe that she could not speak and instead communicated by making harsh noises, something conveyed in the film.
Pictured: Fiona Shaw and Daniel Day Lewis in the 1989 film My Left Foot, based on Christy Brown’s 1954 autobiography.
Building on the success of A Room with a View and My Beautiful Laundry, Daniel (pictured) was chosen to star in the adaptation of My Left Foot.
The drama tells the real-life story of Irish artist Christy Brown (pictured), who was born in Dublin in 1932 and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
As a result of this, Christy’s doctors initially believed that he was also mentally disabled.
However, Dr. Eileen Cole worked with Christy to develop his speaking skills, which eventually led him to begin a writing career as well.
Upon its release, Daniel was widely praised for his sensitive performance and proved wrong the skeptics who had questioned whether he could fully portray the difficulties Christy faced accurately.
He New York Times he praised the south London-born actor for his “beautifully acted” portrayal of the artist and praised the film itself for its “educated” and “non-judgmental” depiction of cerebral palsy.
In preparation for his role, Daniel, famous for his method acting, spent months studying children with cerebral palsy in Dublin and taught himself to paint using a palette knife held between his toes.
During filming, he always remained in his wheelchair. During the day, the crew had to pick it up and transport it using cables.
At night, they had to spoon-feed him and help him with his drinks at the local pub. And as they began to treat him with less and less dignity and respect, he began to understand the humiliation of his character.
According the guardianDaniel also injured two ribs from spending weeks hunched over in a wheelchair.
The film was nominated for a total of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jim Sheridan, and secured Day-Lewis’ name as one of the most dedicated and talented actors working in film.
Her co-star Brenda Fricker, who played Christy’s mother, Mrs. Brown, also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
During filming, Daniel (pictured) always remained in his wheelchair. During the day, the crew had to pick it up and transport it using cables.
The film was nominated for a total of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jim Sheridan.
Appearing on The Late Late Show with Gay Bryne in 1989, Daniel explained how his film producer friend Noel Pearson first told him about Christy Brown’s life and, from there, the artist became a “hero ” for Day Lewis.
He admitted: ‘I wasn’t convinced I should do it. I thought the movie should be made and he was a big hero to me, but I didn’t know if it was the right thing for me to take on. I just couldn’t resist.’
What’s more, Daniel said he was struck by how Christy’s disability was not a “predominant feature” of the script, but rather the artist’s “anger at the way he was perceived and misunderstood.”
My Left Foot director Jim Sheridan said of Daniel, “He feels like he’s betraying himself spiritually if he doesn’t give 100 percent.” The destruction of the self is not possible, but he comes as close as anyone could.
Before filming In the Name of the Father, in which he played Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four falsely convicted of an IRA bombing campaign, he spent long periods in a small prison cell without food or water while the crew launched insults and cold water. him.
This role earned him his second Oscar nomination, in 1994, and the 2002 epic Gangs Of New York secured his third place on the shortlist.
He learned Czech for the adaptation of Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, although the film, set in the Prague spring of 1968, was shot in English.
And for his role in The Boxer, he trained with former world champion Barry McGuigan, twice a day, seven days a week for almost three years.
