Austin Lynch takes a look at Daniel Day Lewis as he wins a unique third ‘Best Actor’ Academy Award at this year’s Oscars…
IT’S NOW well over a week since the final guests left the various Oscars’ aftershow parties.
The red carpet has once again been rolled up and put away, and all the beautiful people have gone back into their mansions and apartments to wait for the next script to drop through the letterbox, or for their agent to call.
Even before the glittering awards ceremony just over a week ago there was much speculation about whether the eventual winner of ‘Best Picture’ Argo was in fact the best film of 2012.
Possibly not, and more than likely there were other, better pictures made last year but isn’t that the way every year.
Argo, which incidentally is now out on video (I meant DVD and Blue Ray), was a very good film and is as worthy a winner as anything from the past few years.
But in years to come the Oscars of February 2013 won’t be remembered for Argo, or for any of the ‘supporting’ actor or actress awards.
It might be remembered for British singer Adele winning the first ever Oscar for a Bond film for her theme song for ‘Skyfall’.
What this year’s awards will be remembered in years to come for Daniel Day Lewis picking up his third ‘Best Actor’ Oscar for Lincoln – a feat as yet unequalled in the history of the Academy Awards.
Born in England but living in Wicklow Daniel Day Lewis now joins an illustrious list of the Hollywood elite of multiple Oscar winners.
And although it couldn’t be said this achievement will not be equalled or bettered it certainly is impressive in the extreme.
Day Lewis joins such contemporories as Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn and Dustin Hoffman in the ‘two Best Actor’ club. Jack Nicoholson actually has three Oscars but his third was a ‘supporting actor’ role so he doesn’t really top Day Lewis’s achievement.
Considering the other actors who are sitting on two ‘Best Actor’ awards – Tom Hanks, Sean Penn and Dustin Hoffman – there is a fairly decent chance sometime between now and the end of their careers they might at least get nominated, and maybe even win another Oscar.
But that doesn’t lessen the achievement of Day Lewis who has won his awards for three very different, and very demanding roles – Christy Brown in ‘My Left Foot, Daniel Plainview in ‘There will be Blood’ and as former US President Abraham Lincoln in ‘Lincoln.
Without doubt the Wicklow based actor is one of the finest actors of his generation and rightly deserved his awards.
He has always been an actor who throws himself into the roles he takes on – immersing himself in the parts.
Maybe this is his secret – he works so hard at becoming the parts he plays that he is so believable, and is able to put in these strong, powerful and amazing performances.
However he does it – it works – and he is on top of the world at the moment.
Apparently he’s going to take a break now for a few years – he probably deserves it.