Thespic king ‘abdicates’ his throne

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting buffs all over the globe were stunned late last month when Daniel Day-Lewis, hailed by Time Magazine as the greatest actor of his generation, announced that he was quitting acting—for good.

It was like a royal or presidential abdication, leaving the thespic world without its acknowledged leader.

Whatever had possessed Day-Lewis to end his glorious career, which was capped by many awards, including three best actor Oscars (a record)—at only age 60?

Alas, there was no explanation forthcoming from the reclusive thespic genius—
which didn’t surprise his theater and film colleagues one bit, because he’s always been known for being brilliant—but idiosyncratic and ornery as heck!

Stories abound about his unpredictable ways throughout his career, which began with a big bang in 1989, when he won his first Best Actor Oscar for his stunningly detailed and believable portrayal of a contortedly disabled man in “My Left Foot.”

As early as that, his coactors were unnerved by the extreme lengths he would go to get under the skin and into the heart of his severely contorted character.

He refused to use his own legs throughout the long filming process, and insisted on being carried to the set, where he shot the whole day, then was lifted back to his hotel.

Day-Lewis’ “method” may have felt bizarre and even mad to his colleagues, but it had artistic logic and even brilliance to it, because it gave
his portrayal a convincingly “lived-in” and “earned” look and feel.

He sustained his unorthodox thespic technique throughout his career, and it enabled him to play a radically wide (and sometimes wild) range of characters, each speaking and moving in his own, unique way:

“The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Age of Innocence” in 1992, “In the Name of the Father” in 1993, “The Crucible” in 1996, “The Boxer” in 1997, “The Gangs of New York” in 2002, “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” in 2005, and “There Will Be Blood” in 2007—for which he won his second Best Actor Oscar.

It was followed by “Nine” in 2009, and “Lincoln” in 2012. By then, Day-Lewis’ film output had dried up significantly—but, “Lincoln” put him right back at the top of the list of the movie’s finest male thespians, because it won for him his third, record-setting Oscar for Best Actor!

Aside from his multiple Academy Awards, Day-Lewis has also won more than his share of other top thespic honors, like the Bafta and the Golden Globe.

He’s also had an illustrious TV and theater career, and is best remembered for his portrayals in “Hamlet,” “Another Country,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Look Back in Anger.”

Now that Day-Lewis has “abdicated” his preeminent position in the thespic world, film buffs are wondering who his rightful heir could turn out to be.

In terms of living winners of Best Actor Oscars, the contenders are Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Geoffrey Rush, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Jack Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Sean Penn, Jeff Bridges, Jean Dujardin, Jamie Fox, Colin Firth, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Matthew McConnaughey, Eddie Redmayne, Leonardo DiCarpio and Casey Affleck.

Who’s your pick? We’ll go with Jeremy Irons.