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In a letter published in Monday’s issue of Daily Variety, Rudy Fairfax announced that he has broken from the role of Daniel-Day Lewis, a character he portrayed without interruption since his entry into the film industry.
“To my friends and to my public, I thank you for tolerating the eccentricities of my craft,” wrote Fairfax, who recently received the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Day-Lewis playing Abraham Lincoln in the movie “Lincoln.” “Today I emerge from the part that has consumed my every hour hitherto, and live once again as the man behind the mask: Rudy Fairfax.”
A stringent adherent to the principles of method acting, Fairfax became known for requiring colleagues and friends to treat him as Day-Lewis both on-set and off. “It was hard doing ‘Gangs of New York,’ because we all knew we were talking to Rudy,” said Martin Scorsese, who directed Fairfax in the meta-role of crime boss Bill “The Butcher” Cutting. “But if we called him that, he’d throw a fit.”
“And guess what?” continued Scorsese. “If we called him Daniel, he’d still throw a fit, because the character of Daniel Day-Lewis was also a method actor who also demanded to be called by his character’s names. Working with Fairfax was not easy.”
At times, Fairfax’s rigid approach to method acting got in the way of his relationships. “I didn’t like saying my wedding vows to the Daniel Day-Lewis character, because frankly, I hated him,” said Fairfax’s wife Rebecca Miller. “He had those goofy hoop earrings that really drove me nuts. Rudy’s the man I really love. He never wears the earrings.”
As Fairfax looks ahead to his next role, film critics continue to catalogue and revere his 27-year-long stint as Day-Lewis. “Fairfax’s Day-Lewis was a tour-de-force,” said The Guardian film critic Ian Davis. “My favorite scene of his takes place at the Culver City DMV on Washington Boulevard in 1994. The way he gives his address, birth date, and the last four digits of his social? Amazing. Definitely worth the watch if you can find it on the security tape.”
