It’s not often we get to see Daniel Day-Lewis let loose on set. Surely he’s too serious an actor for that!
Well, yes and no. A new clip released yesterday (March 29) from Phantom Thread shows the Oscar-winning star in a very different light.
The scene in question didn’t feature in the final film, which opened in theaters last December, but has been released to coincide with the film being released digitally and on Blu-ray and DVD.
It shows Daniel’s character, the fussy dress designer Reynolds Woodcock, and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) having breakfast together, just as they do a few times in the final film. This time, however, unspoken tension between the two erupts into a full-on food fight — with Daniel-as-Reynolds lamenting the “waste of tea” and Lesley rubbing jelly into his face.
Don’t believe us? Watch and see:
It’s certainly good to see Daniel so cheery. He’s in character, of course, but he appears relaxed and light-hearted in the brief interlude between takes, as he jokes with the crew and director Paul Thomas Anderson.
In an interview last year he gave a very different impression of the making of this film, saying it had left him feeling “overwhelmed” with sadness, and convinced him to give up acting altogether.
We hope he’s had a change of heart (not to mention a change of clothes).
Did you think Daniel had it in him?
