The New York Times has listed Irish actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Saoirse Ronan in the top of ten of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century. The US publication has released its list with Ronan ranked at number 10, and Day-Lewis was named the third-best actor from this century so far.
Day-Lewis is the only person to ever win three Best Actor Oscars beginning with his astonishing portrayal of Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan’s ‘My Left Foot’ (1989). He won again for his role as the ruthless oil prospector in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2008), and for his eponymous role in ‘Lincoln'(2013).
Since his debut as a teenager in ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ (1971), through to modern classics such as ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ (1985) and ‘Gangs of New York ‘(2002), he has been an actor well-known due to the intense preparations he puts into each role. He uses his own method acting, a technique in which actors reflect on their personal life experiences to draw forth emotions.
Coming in at number 10 was Saoirse Ronan. While she’s only 26, Ronan has already managed to pave a path to stardom, earning herself four academy award nominations – three for best actress and one for best supporting actress.
She received her first nomination for ‘Atonement’ (2007), but her debut was actually in 2003 in an RTÉ medical drama series, ‘The Clinic’. She has also starred in a number of critically acclaimed movies including ‘Brooklyn’, (2015) – which is based on the novel with the same name written by Irish author Colm Tóibín -, and ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, (2014). Recently, Saoirse Ronan has worked alongside one of America’s leading female directors, Greta Gerwig, responsible for both ‘Little Women’ (2019) and ‘Lady Bird’ (2017), that led her to win a Golden Globe for her performance.
