Summary: Watching Daniel Day-Lewis play Abraham Lincoln, audiences felt like they were seeing the real man. They felt that the actor had somehow turned the monument into flesh and blood. But the truth is that we don’t really know what Lincoln was like. There are many books that describe him, his relationships, and his presidency but we still don’t know the man. So what did Day-Lewis do? He captured the spirit of Lincoln and his sensitivities. He played the actions that Lincoln might have used in the situations presented and pursued his goals through many means. He played the inner life of a man, a husband, a father, a president, and a politician. And he created a physicality and voice that seemed to evoke the man. The acting lesson to take from Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is not how to become an exact replica of a person but rather how to combine research with imagination, analysis, and intuition to create an honest, living character who is appropriate for the story. Remember, you can never really be someone else. You can only be a different you. So to build a character, whether it is based on a real person or not, you have to shape it out of your flesh and bone, out of your mind and imagination, and out of your heart and soul. For more on this topic, listen to the full podcast. For podcasts and more please follow me on Twitter @NotesOnActing. You can also hear the Notes On Acting podcasts on Stitcher On Demand Radio. © Eric Barr. All rights reserved. 2013.
