The 1997 sports drama, The Boxer, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, offers a captivating story of redemption and emotion through boxing, which was helped by the work done behind the scenes. Set during the Troubles of Northern Ireland, The Boxer depicts a former member of the Provisional IRA being released from prison after a heavy sentence, and trying to get his life back on track in his old neighborhood. His attempts to rebuild his life see him return to his old pᴀssion of boxing, but his future is threatened by the ghosts of his past.

Daniel Day-Lewis’ best-known movies include My Beautiful Launderette and Phantom Thread, which helped establish him as one of the most celebrated and respected actors in the entertainment industry. Day-Lewis has received several BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Guild Awards for his performances and he broke an Oscars record in 2013 by becoming the first and only actor in the history of the Oscars to win three Best Actor Awards. His success has been attributed to his strong commitment to all of his roles, which was seen with the 1997 movie.

Daniel Day-Lewis Trained For Two Years With A Real Boxing Legend For The Boxer

The Actor Was Trained By Irish Boxing Champion Barry McGuigan

In The Boxer, Day-Lewis portrays Danny Flynn who, as a teenager, was imprisoned for 14 years for his involvement with the Provisional IRA. Upon his release, Danny decides to open a nonsectarian boxing club in Belfast with his old trainer, which allows both Catholic and Protestant boys to train. In preparation for the movie, Day-Lewis trained for two years with Irish featherweight boxing champion, Barry McGuigan, whose defeat of Eusebio Pedroza for the world featherweight тιтle in 1985 partially inspired the plot of The Boxer (via The Irish Times).

McGuigan revealed that Day-Lewis took his boxing training very seriously and that he was impressed with the actor’s dedication to his performance as Danny. As part of Day-Lewis’ training, McGuigan had him fight against British welterweight boxer, Geoff McCreesh, for six months. McGuigan stated that by the end of the training “they were doing eight rounds together, and I swear you couldn’t separate them. There was nothing between them.” (via TalkSport). McGuigan went on to train Johnny Harris for the 2017 sports movie Jawbone (via The Irish Post).

The Boxer Was Another Example Of Daniel Day-Lewis’ Use Of Method Acting

Day-Lewis Has Gained A Reputation For Using Method Acting To Improve His Performances

Day-Lewis has gained a reputation throughout his acting career for fully immersing himself in every role that he takes, and conducting intense research into his characters’ backgrounds. This was the case for his role in The Boxer, which was his third movie with director Jim Sheridan. Alongside his training with McGuigan, Day-Lewis’ commitment to the role saw him get his hands tattooed to give the appearance of a skilled boxer (via BBC). The Boxer received high praise upon its release and garnered three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Actor for Day-Lewis.

While Day-Lewis’ reliance on method acting worked for his performance, the intensity of The Boxer resulted in him taking a five-year hiatus from acting until Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, in 2002; his use of method acting infamously caused him to catch pneumonia during production (via Looper). Nevertheless, his strong dedication to all his roles proved successful throughout his award-winning career. Daniel Day-Lewis’ commitment to a perfect performance in every movie contributed to the success of The Boxer, which was further ᴀssisted by the support he received from a real-life boxing legend.

Sources: The Irish Times, TalkSport, The Irish Post, BBC, Looper