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."