Why Is Daniel Day-Lewis So Forgettable?
Ava Lawson 
Except for Bill The Butcher and There Will Be Blood, he's either dull or uninteresting: Phantom Thread, Nine, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, Age of Innocence or chews the scenery: The Crucible, Lincoln, The Last of the Mohicans, In The Name of the Father.....seriously do you really miss him? He can't touch O'Toole, Finney, David Warner, Mark Rylance, or even Burton...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 105 | September 5, 2023 9:10 PM |
Reports of his personality surpassed reports of his acting ability.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | August 26, 2023 7:27 PM |
My Beautiful Laundrette was the only film of his that I really enjoyed.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 26, 2023 7:30 PM |
His John Proctor was stagey and hammy.....His Age of Innocence was a total bore and a sleeper. Michelle was so much more enjoyable
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 26, 2023 7:46 PM |
[quote]Why Is Daniel Day-Lewis So Forgettable
Setting aside that the thread is clearly intended for shading purposes, I'd say that the reason he's so forgettable is that he disappears into his roles.
Most actors are just that person playing whatever the part is. You can see the actor in the role - like Depp or RDJ - they are the role, so do it well. This is true for Nicholson, De Niron, and Pacino and a bit less, but still true of DiCaprio and Bale. Obviously true of people like Will Smith, Pitt, and Clooney. The only other actor who disappears in his (good) roles is Gary Oldman.
DDL becomes so immersed in the character that you can no longer see him.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | August 26, 2023 7:56 PM |
The characters are boring, too.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | August 26, 2023 7:58 PM |
How do people on DL feel about Phantom Thread?
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | August 26, 2023 7:58 PM |
Manville was great but the movie was a bore, which was very disappointing because I had so looked forward to seeing it.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | August 26, 2023 8:13 PM |
He's all technique, I don't think he's ever been known for having much screen presence.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | August 26, 2023 8:32 PM |
He’s an actor, but not a star.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | August 26, 2023 8:50 PM |
DDL is one of those actors who fetishized the pursuit of "real" in his performances. Whenever one of his new films came out you could count on lots of PR going on and on about his obsessive prep for his role as if that alone made him better than other actors (it was also pretty shameless Oscar-baiting on his and/or his publicist's part). One the one hand you could say, "whatever works for him to get a first-class performance is really his business", but I'm also sure that at least some of what he did would not be noticed by audiences.
That said, he definitely has a lot of talent, and he was blessed with his looks, which served him well in LAST OF THE MOHICANS which turned him into a matinee idol (for a short while - that role never suited him). He was terrific in MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, and superb in MY LEFT FOOT. I know he got great reviews for UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and THE BOXER, but I haven't seen those in a long time so I won't comment.
I felt he was in a different movie than the other cast member in GANGS OF NEW YORK, and his performance in THERE WILL BE BLOOD was certainly impressive, but his voice sounded so much like John Huston's in CHINATOWN (a deliberate choice I suspect) that I found it distracting.
I found his performance in LINCOLN very dry and too studied. But I did like him in PHANTOM THREAD - Manville was definitely the standout, but I felt he was playing a character very much like himself. NINE was just an unfortunate project all around - when Fergie winds up being the best thing in a movie (at least she can sing), you're in real trouble.
In AGE OF INNOCENCE, he and Pfeiffer had no chemistry at all, and it was both their fault (and Scorsese's). She tends to be a very self-protective actress and he's a very self-possessed actor to a fault, so he wasn't going to try and draw her out.
I think part of the issue with DDL is that he has no sense of humor as an actor, and I never got the impression that he got any real joy or satisfaction from being one. The few times I've seen in him comedic films ( A ROOM WITH A VIEW, STARS & BARS) he's terrible. In the latter film he plays this mild-mannered English art expert who's a fish out of water in the American South (the kind of part Michael Palin would have nailed easily), and DDL is just a big hole in the center of the film.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | August 26, 2023 9:18 PM |
Didn't he dickmatize both Isabelle Adjani and Julia Roberts?
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | August 26, 2023 9:22 PM |
I loved him in My Beautiful Laundrette.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | August 26, 2023 9:24 PM |
Yes, R15. He also broke up with Adjani via fax in 1995 while she was pregnant with their kid.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | August 26, 2023 9:25 PM |
R17- Daniel Day Lewis is not heterosexual.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | August 26, 2023 9:30 PM |
In the Name of the Father was a fantastic film. Day Lewis’s performance merited Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA best actor nominations, among others.
Thanks for the reminder.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | August 26, 2023 9:48 PM |
[quote] In AGE OF INNOCENCE, he and Pfeiffer had no chemistry at all, and it was both their fault (and Scorsese's). She tends to be a very self-protective actress and he's a very self-possessed actor to a fault, so he wasn't going to try and draw her out.
Agreed. This is why I never liked that movie. I see no passion between them. It doesn't work.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | August 26, 2023 9:48 PM |
Phantom Thread was an aimless, pointless, frivolous, vacuous effusion from that minimally talented yet inexplicably admired Paul Thomas Anderson. Daniel Day-Lewis, another triple named pseudo intellectual said the filming experience was eviscerating. I can relate, try watching it.
He was fine in Mohicans and My Left Foot.
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | August 26, 2023 10:42 PM |
I love THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, but I agree the weakest part of the film is the lack of chemistry between Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer. But I blame Scorsese for that more than I blame the actors. Scorsese was much more interested in approaching the anthropological aspects of the novel (which is the best part of the film--the attention given to ritual grand occasions and to cruel ritualized exclusions) than in the love story.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | August 26, 2023 10:47 PM |
He’s not- he’s an acting genius and you are a troll and/or an imbecile. He may be the greatest screen actor ever. .
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | August 27, 2023 2:27 AM |
He scared the shit out of me as Bill the Butcher, yikes.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | August 27, 2023 2:47 AM |
I think his ratio of great performances to number of films is pretty impressive. My Beautiful Launderette, My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood (though, yes, the Huston vocal channeling is a bit distracting), and Lincoln are great performances in great films. I’m less of a fan of Gangs of New York and Phantom Thread, but he still is excellent and captivating in them (though I think Lesley Manville steals the latter in a performance that should have won every supporting award that year). Last of the Mohicans isn’t my kind of movie, but I think he’s perfectly fine in it. I skipped Nine. He would always be an incentive for me to see a movie. I think it’s fitting that he has more leading Oscars than any other male actor.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | August 27, 2023 2:56 AM |
I liked Phantom Thread because I'm in the business and love any stories about design, plus Lesley M! Love you forever, Daniel
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | August 27, 2023 3:37 AM |
OP, you smug bitch. You're so proud of your prissy declarative, provocative thread opener but it's just another typical social media low brow troll. Pathetic.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | August 27, 2023 3:42 AM |
Because sometimes in this life there are little mercies.
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | August 27, 2023 3:44 AM |
His performance in There Will Be Blood seemed to be a parody. He's terrific in My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father for which he definitely deserved the Oscar which went to Tom Hanks (Philadelphia)
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | August 27, 2023 3:49 AM |
Good Lord.
Another dull troll thinking it's playing.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | August 27, 2023 3:51 AM |
He was let down by Scorceses casting in Gangs. Imo Leo was horribly miscast (he had neither the presence nor the charisma to be a gang leader) and so was Carmen Diaz who was a nothing. Gangs should have been as good as Goodfellas.
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | August 27, 2023 3:51 AM |
IMO he's also chosen the right movies to be in. I adore The Age of Innocence, Phantom Thread, and Last of the Mohicans and appreciate Lincoln, Unbearable Lightness, A Room With A View, Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood, and In the Name of the Father. That's a very high batting average.
| by Anonymous | reply 32 | August 27, 2023 3:55 AM |
And in those cases he contributes a ton.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | August 27, 2023 3:56 AM |
Whatever you think of his performances, he's still skinny at 66.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 34 | August 27, 2023 3:56 AM |
I never see his movies being shown on TV. The one I really liked is "In the Name of the Father."
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | August 27, 2023 4:33 AM |
Do you see Julia Roberts movies being shown much on TV R35?
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | August 27, 2023 7:45 AM |
F7 is right, and I would see his Gary Oldman and raise him Alec Guinness. People have a clear picture of Guinness as Obewan, of course, but before that he was just as forgettable, but he was wonderful in many films. I was thrilled to bits for him that he took a percentage to be in Star Wars, because he hadn't made much money at all by Hollywood standards before that.
The only really memorable RL thing he did was to tell James Dean he would die if he drove That car.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | August 27, 2023 1:05 PM |
R36, Yes. "The Pelican Brief" has been shown several times lately (I know, because I love that movie). "Notting Hill." "Pretty Woman." "Mystic Pizza." "Ocean's 11."
"My Best Friend's Wedding" is on tomorrow morning on "Encore."
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | August 27, 2023 1:56 PM |
R37, It's r7, not F7. 🙂
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | August 27, 2023 1:57 PM |
R37.....Alec Guiness forgettable? Are you fucking kidding me?????? Oliver Twist, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lady Killers, Bridge on the River Kwai, L of Arabia, and the greatest of them all, Tinker, Tailor,.......any student of acting should study this master class in film acting......
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | August 27, 2023 8:42 PM |
"I found his performance in LINCOLN very dry and too studied."
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | August 27, 2023 9:33 PM |
OP has obviously never seen "My Beautiful Launderette"
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | August 27, 2023 9:34 PM |
How did he apply his famous method acting on the set of My Beautiful Launderette - did he suck cocks on bathrooms betwen takes?
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | August 27, 2023 9:45 PM |
I wonder why he and Meryl never did a movie together. That might have been really something.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | August 27, 2023 9:51 PM |
Unlike the majority, I actually liked him (and Pfeiffer) in The Age of Innocence. He is a great actor and is a pity he retired. He must br rather insufferable personally though.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | August 27, 2023 10:03 PM |
R44 That would have been awful. DDL's performances only work when he has someone with less robotic and warmer screen presence to interact with onscreen (Pete Postlethwaite , Brenda Fricker, Lesley Manville...) Watching him and Meryl "click click click" Streep together would be like watching two robots, with no pristine emotions in sight.
| by Anonymous | reply 46 | August 27, 2023 10:12 PM |
R38 The Encore channel what a great lineup. Who doesn't want to see The Banger Sisters!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 47 | August 27, 2023 10:22 PM |
R46 has never seen Death Becomes Her.
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | August 27, 2023 11:33 PM |
You do know he walked off the stage at The National when he was performing Hamlet, don't you? During the ghost scene. Claims he really saw his father instead of the actor. Fucking method actor cocksucker. Prick. Never forgave him, just like I never forgave O'Toole for walking out of the 1960 season at Stratford to go play that faggot Lawrence
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | August 28, 2023 6:37 PM |
Does he have “an” OnlyFans?
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | August 28, 2023 6:56 PM |
If Philip Seymour Hoffman hadn't died, I think he would have matched DDL's three oscars.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | August 28, 2023 7:07 PM |
I think DDL is a great actor but he makes few films and disappears when he’s not filming or promoting a film.
He’s not on social media, doesn’t attend events, no pap walks, no messy personal life. I don’t remember the last time I saw him anywhere.
I think it helps with his roles, I have no idea what he’s like. I had no idea that he was with Isabelle Adjani. I think he has kinds but I don’t know them.
I can’t even remember his voice. He can truly disappear in a role.
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | August 28, 2023 7:09 PM |
He's unique and talented but also often gives weird performances in which he doesn't communicate his character especially well and is visibly acting. I think it's his face. After all these years, as much as I like "My Beautiful Laundrette" and as many times as I've seen it, I still can't figure out what Johnny is thinking or what his motivation is most of the time. He frequently has a wry, quirky smile on his face in different situations; Day-Lewis used a similar expression with Cecil Vyse.
I honestly think he could have done a better job in "Laundrette," or maybe the part should have gone to someone who could portray emotions more clearly.
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | August 28, 2023 7:17 PM |
R52, He "makes few films" because he now makes none. He retired.
| by Anonymous | reply 55 | August 28, 2023 7:31 PM |
And he had quite the "messy personal life."
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | August 28, 2023 7:31 PM |
I loved Phantom Thread and Age of Innocence. He's great in Gangs... but the rest of the cast was lacking. He was terrifying in There Will Be Blood.
He's a very respected actor, and for good reason.
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | August 28, 2023 7:41 PM |
So nice to finally see people calling Method acting the peacockery it is. We have Jeremy Strong to thank for that.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | August 28, 2023 8:42 PM |
[quote] Does he have “an” OnlyFans?
That joke just never gets old!
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | August 28, 2023 8:45 PM |
He was an animatronic Lincoln from the state fair in Lincoln.
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | August 28, 2023 8:54 PM |
Bullshit OP. Take a walk - you need fresh air.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | August 28, 2023 8:56 PM |
At least Tom Cruise is good for a laugh.
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | August 28, 2023 9:00 PM |
This is all bullshit. DDL will come out of retirement like ole blue eyes......they'll be such a high demand to see him, he might over take Barbie and Oppenheimer combined. Because he is such a chameleon, and because Igar royally fucked up Snow White, he approached Daniel to play the Prince. They will de age him, and he'll be billed as Danny Day Lewis in case he gains an audience with the teeny boppers
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | August 28, 2023 10:41 PM |
R56 any fun gossip you can share and elaborate on? Is he still married to to Arthur Miller's daughter Rebecca?
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | August 28, 2023 10:49 PM |
No, just the Adjani affair.
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | August 28, 2023 11:03 PM |
OP I think u are forgettable. He is the only actor to receive 3 Best actors Oscars, 3 BAFTA’s and 3 SAG awards. It’s OK for you to not like him but to say he’s forgettable is pretty ridiculous.
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | August 28, 2023 11:07 PM |
I’ve heard this as well, R4
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | August 29, 2023 12:17 AM |
R 66...yeah but the real underpinning of this thread is: do you miss him? I miss not seeing Jack Nicholson. Peter O'Toole in his prime, Brando, any time, but DDL? Do you really, really miss him?
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | August 29, 2023 4:47 AM |
It's always amazing to me when there are literally dozens of examples how to reference previous replies in front of your face, and someone like R68 still can't manage to figure it out. Can't copy the examples. And fucks it up.
Are people really that oblivious and stupid? Can people not follow patterns right in front of their face? It happens so often...
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | August 29, 2023 4:53 AM |
DDL over-engineered Method to the point of disservice to the story. This is why he didn't help buffer weak productions like [italic] Gangs of New York [/italic].
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | August 29, 2023 4:56 AM |
[quote]Alec Guiness forgettable? Are you fucking kidding me??????
I was in fact praising him by adding him to R7's list of one, being actors who are so good you forget they are inside the character. Read what we're talking about first before you blow up at people.
And it's "Guinness".
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | August 29, 2023 3:58 PM |
[quote]Didn't he dickmatize both Isabelle Adjani and Julia Roberts?
I thought Julia was dickmatized by Jason Patric, for whom she left Kiefer Sutherland at the altar.
That was a scandal in the early '90s around the time of HOOK.
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | August 29, 2023 4:11 PM |
FUN FACT: DDL is married to Rebecca Miller, daughter of playwright Arthur Miller and photographer Inge Morath.
In fact, Miller had left Marilyn Monroe for Morath, with whom he also had a Down syndrome son who was institutionalized all his life.
Furthermore, Marilyn hero-worshipped Abraham Lincoln.
I remember when DDL won his third Oscar for LINCOLN, it made me wish that Michelle Williams had won the previous year for MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, because then she would be presenting the Oscar to him.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 73 | August 29, 2023 5:11 PM |
I don’t miss him. But he is handsome. Remember his stint as a cobbler’s apprentice?
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | August 29, 2023 7:03 PM |
In the photo at R34 it looks like he is wearing one of those hats that has fake hair sewn into it.
| by Anonymous | reply 75 | August 29, 2023 7:34 PM |
Because DDL doesn't do day to day drama to spark interest in him.
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | August 29, 2023 7:37 PM |
But it strangely still ends up all hat and no cattle, r76.
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | August 29, 2023 7:44 PM |
What does "all hat and no cattle mean," r77?
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | August 29, 2023 11:15 PM |
They used to say it about GW Bush, R78. They also meant that he called his place in Texas a "ranch" even though he had no cattle, which is a prerequisite, but he did wear a cowboy hat.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 79 | August 29, 2023 11:34 PM |
Loved him in Stars and Bars. "Shut your mouth English shit bird".
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | August 29, 2023 11:42 PM |
Julia Roberts wanted DDL to co-star with her in Shakespeare in Love.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | August 29, 2023 11:55 PM |
Loved him in Room With A View. He's better in small doses. Supporting roles. Character roles.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | August 30, 2023 2:16 AM |
R81 and he strung her along just long enough to treat her like a cum dump for a few months with a very pregnant Adjani tossed to the curb.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | August 30, 2023 4:02 AM |
Joseph Fiennes has a lighter touch and was fine.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | August 30, 2023 4:09 AM |
I'm telling you, he's making a come back as Jim Nabors preparing to play King Lear
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | August 30, 2023 10:45 PM |
Danny and I have been in talks on a his screen return as his true inspiration: Lee Strasberg. I'm directing
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | August 30, 2023 10:49 PM |
I always get him and Jeremy Irons mixed up.
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | August 30, 2023 11:11 PM |
He is unforgettable but I am not a real fan of his. His current looks resembles the type of guy who wears sweatpants for the sole purpose of flashing
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | August 31, 2023 3:03 AM |
Everything and everyone now is forgettable. Hurricane Who?
Next!
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | August 31, 2023 3:25 AM |
He was superb in In The Name of the Father
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 91 | August 31, 2023 4:06 AM |
I have always found him terribly sexy.
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | August 31, 2023 5:04 AM |
Why is OP so forgettable?
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | August 31, 2023 5:07 AM |
Very handsome man. Big dick energy? Yet cinematically forgettable, according to some.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | August 31, 2023 10:50 PM |
Good Spectrum candidate.
Would have put him in that thread about Irish actors but he’s only half-Irish.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 96 | September 5, 2023 12:32 AM |
Because you're a bigoted asshole, r96? That thread was trash.
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | September 5, 2023 6:12 AM |
Doesn't Jacob Elordi idolize him?
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | September 5, 2023 6:14 AM |
DDL was born into luxury and privilege.
He attended the best acting schools.
Had all the right connections.
I don't find him inspiring nor interesting.
🤷♂️
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | September 5, 2023 6:22 AM |
R99, do tell more please, I want more dirt on this cat.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | September 5, 2023 6:49 AM |
Daniel Day-Lewis' upbringing is what Gene Kelly's movie star character 'Don Lockwood' wished was his backstory in the film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN instead of being from the wrong side of the tracks.
| by Anonymous | reply 101 | September 5, 2023 7:30 AM |
The Last of the Mohicans was a great movie, endlessly watchable, fantastic cast, created from an unreadable classic novel.
I was excited to see Phantom Thread, thinking it was going to be a Christian Dior type character in the time of the New Look. Instead it was set a decade later and he was Norman Hartnell.
| by Anonymous | reply 102 | September 5, 2023 4:24 PM |
R98, I'm sure a number of actors idolize him. Bradley Cooper certainly does.
| by Anonymous | reply 103 | September 5, 2023 6:35 PM |
I had forgotten DDL, but this thread reminded me that I don’t care for his acting but he is hot indeed.
| by Anonymous | reply 104 | September 5, 2023 7:25 PM |
I have never not liked DDL in anything I've seen him in. Reading here about his being forgettable, I've decided to watch some of his movies. There Will Be Blood is up first. Thanks for the thread, OP.
| by Anonymous | reply 105 | September 5, 2023 9:10 PM |
