Daniel Day-Lewis Breaks Down Talking About Heath Ledger

Oprah aired an Oscar nominee special Thursday, including an interview with Daniel Day-Lewis. It seemed the interview was taped late Tuesday, hours after news broke that Heath Ledger had passed away. In the middle of trying to discuss his role in "There Will be Blood," Day-Lewis broke down and asked to say a few words about Ledger's death. He didn't know Ledger but, "I have an impression, a strong impression i would have liked him very much as a man if I had."

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Comments

[alsm9]

Yes, this was not a "break down". Daniel Day-Lewis was being repectful and sincere about a very sad turn of events. But I guess respect and sincerety aren't the media's MO so how would they know it when they see it. Whoever made the decision to spin it as a "break down" should really be ashamed of themselves. It's like lying....

[trailblazer]

I'm not one to defend the media much these days, and I know HuffPo has its fair share of ridiculous, inflammatory headlines, but without looking it up, I believe there is a difference in saying someone "broke down," as opposed to they "had a breakdown." I believe that they "broke down" simply means they cried.

[KOisGod]

DDL = class act.

Oprah - a product of the "Nancy Grace", tabloid leering the media MUST engage in if they are to keep up with the herd.

Yes Oprah, we MUST have the autopsy report ASAP so we can KNOW that it was drugs, booze, whatever that took another young life - so we can replace all of the good he did as an actor and father, and human being, with the cold hard facts, so that we remember that - HE WAS FUCKED UP, AND COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

There Oprah, media, happy????

NEXT

[JudyMillerDubyaAgent]

Can the media please, please, PLEASE stop defining displays of real, honest to goodness human emotion as a "breakdown"!!! It's not a "breakdown"!!

[Sketchartist]

If the Huffington Post must insist on being sleazy with tabloid-style headlines, this one should have read "Oprah Reveals Her Heart Of Ice".

[foxeyes2]

I have to agree that Oprah came across as cold and uncomforatable and not really happy that DDL didn't stay on script. Then to bring up the autospy just seemed crass and out of place.
I respect and admire DDL for sharing his honest emotion for a man he didn't know but still felt sorrow on Heath's passing and his compassion for the family. To me that is the essence of being a true man. May his wish that Heath's family and friends be allowed to grieve as they need be heeded and may Heath rest in peace.

[trailblazer]

I love Oprah and watch her every chance I get, but one, she always acts too star-struck and giddy when interviewing celebrities, and two, at times she seems uncomfortable with emotion. Watch her when someone hugs her - it makes her uncomfortable. I think she's more of a business person than a warm and fuzzy person, which is why she is so phenomenally successful, and she was focused on the Oscars, and Day-Lewis threw her off. She did not come across very well at all. That's too bad. Considering the cast of Brokeback Mountain was on her show, I would have thought she would have responded more warmly. I agree - Day-Lewis is a class act. No wonder he typically avoids the whole Hollywood side show.

[beachcruiser]

Regarding Oprah's response:

Here's a woman who has a cast of hundreds if not thousands all around her at all times. All of these people in subservient roles. It's sad, but I sense that because of this, she must shut down emotionally - to the needs of others, the feelings of others, except where it directly involves Oprah. Years and years of this "separation" from humanity fuels a disconnect - a defensive disconnect - between Oprah and her handlers, staff, fans and guests on her show, no matter how big their star power may be. It's sad that her response is so robotic and it shows how unattached she is from reality - how could any normal human hide or ignore their compassion and understanding when confronted with DDL's comments?

[jbeach]

Yeah, this is crap. Can we leave the tabloid shite for other sources, please?

[LeaderofMen]

Breakdown? Puh-lease. There was NO breakdown. He simply expressed his grief - and very casually at that.

[chocco]

Daniel Day-Lewis exhibited class all the way by mentioning Heath Ledger's death. This was not a breakdown. It was him quietly and gently expressing his sympathy for the Ledger family. Oprah's response was strained and weird. She seemed very disingenuous and acted as though she was waiting for some writers to give her a script or something. Bringing up an autopsy was downright creepy. For someone who seems so warmly effusive and never at a loss for words, Oprah showed a cold, calculated side. What's up with her?

[HedgeApple]

Daniel Day-Lewis did nothing but keep his composure while speaking sincerely about a fellow colleague's untimely death - where does this resemble breaking down in any way, shape or form? Sorry, but I don't see it.
We are more uncomfortable with true emotion than we care to admit, at least the media is.
Mr. Day-Lewis came across as a genuine human being and Oprah seems like an android compared to him,and somewhat irked that he deviated from the "script."

[cinfullydem]

I adore DDL. Great actor and an even better human. I thought we had moved beyond making issues of real men who show emotion...

[Fuji]

DDL IS the man. You get a sense that DDL stepped away from acting for a while (to become an apprentice cobbler in Italy!) to avoid the very pressures to which Heath Ledger (RIP) succumbed.

God bless you, Heath.

[rettahb]

"Breakdown" in the same way Hillary "Brokedown".......

Mr. Lewis does seem like the real deal