Daniel Day Lewis Explains How He Captured Abraham Lincoln's Voice for Film Role

Posted on December 5, 2012

Oprah Winfrey spoke with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis about their new film Lincoln. In this video clip Daniel talks about why he took the role after turning it down nine years ago.

Daniel says he read the script and realized immediately the possibilities due to the great writing. He says the richness of the language and the words are what drew him to the part. To prepare for the role Daniel read more than 100 books about Lincoln, looked at photos and read Lincoln's speeches aloud until he captured Lincoln's voice.

Daniel said he believes the voice is "kind of a fingerprint of the soul." He says he works hard and hopefully he gets to that moment when he hears the voice of the character in his inner ear. Daniel generally doesn't give interviews, and it's clear he and Oprah just hit it off immediately. Take a look:

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