#138 - Notes on Acting, Awards and Performance
Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter on People, Ideas and Culture.
Why #LearningStories?
In 2020, I started a podcast called #LearningStories to understand how people acquired a set of skills and knowledge in a creative and innovative manner. In the process I hoped to uncover a new understanding of learning as conceptualized, narrated, and imagined by our guests. I recently completed #50 episodes and you can find the archives here.
I then started writing about the #LearningStories of individuals that have inspired me over time. I know I won’t be able to interview them on my podcast, but I can research their lives and try my best to paint a portrait of how they learned and built their careers and lives over time. This a new series I hope to publish and release periodically through this newsletter. You can find other such posts in the archive section of my blog. Here is the learning story of two such individuals in the field of acting and performance. I always wondered what an ideal learning environment would look like for these two individuals? Let us find out what worked for them.
Meryl Streep Learning Story
Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep (1949 to present) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as “the best actress of her generation”. This is her #LearningStory.
Curiosity
Meryl Streep was born on June 22, 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, and grew up in Bernardsville in a middle-class family. Her mother, Mary Wolf Wilkinson, was a commercial artist and a strong-willed woman who encouraged Meryl’s confidence and independence, while her father, Harry William Streep Jr., was a pharmaceutical executive. From an early age, Streep displayed a natural inclination for performance, initially through music—she took opera lessons at 12 but later lost interest. Streep was not always the elegant and sophisticated woman the world knows today. As a child, she had frizzy hair, glasses, and braces, and she often felt awkward. However, by high school, she reinvented herself, changing her appearance and cultivating a charismatic personality. She became a cheerleader, the homecoming queen, and an active participant in school theater, though she still didn’t see acting as her calling at the time. Her love for performance emerged during school plays, but it was a teacher’s belief in her talent that truly made an impact.
Competence
Meryl Streep’s formal training as an actor began at Vassar College, where she initially studied drama with the intention of becoming a stage actress. Under the mentorship of Clinton J. Atkinson, she performed in several productions, including Miss Julie, which solidified her passion for acting. Seeking rigorous training, she later enrolled in the Yale School of Drama, where she earned an MFA in Acting. At Yale, Streep underwent an intense and physically demanding program, performing in dozens of productions that pushed her to master a wide range of styles and techniques. She trained in classical theater, method acting, and voice modulation, developing the versatility that would become her hallmark. To support herself, she took on summer stock theater roles and even worked as a waitress. Her time at Yale also exposed her to acting alongside future greats like Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang, further refining her ability to adapt to different roles. The combination of classical training, real-world stage experience, and exposure to various acting methodologies helped shape her into one of the most skilled and adaptable performers of her generation.
Creation
Meryl Streep is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, known for her extraordinary versatility, emotional depth, and meticulous character preparation. She made her film debut in Julia (1977) but gained widespread recognition with The Deer Hunter (1978), earning her first Academy Award nomination. She won her first Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), followed by another for Sophie’s Choice (1982), where her heartbreaking performance as a Holocaust survivor showcased her ability to master complex characters and accents. Streep has delivered iconic performances across genres, from period dramas like Out of Africa (1985) and The Bridges of Madison County (1995) to contemporary hits like The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Mamma Mia! (2008). She won a third Oscar for her transformative role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011), further cementing her legendary status. With a record-breaking number of Academy Award nominations (over 20), numerous Golden Globe wins, and prestigious honors such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Streep’s career is a testament to her unparalleled talent and dedication to the craft of acting.
Daniel Day Lewis Learning Story
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (1957 to present) is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Curiosity
Daniel Day-Lewis was born on April 29, 1957, in London, England, into a highly intellectual and artistic family. His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was a renowned poet who served as the British Poet Laureate, while his mother, Jill Balcon, was an accomplished actress and the daughter of Sir Michael Balcon, a pioneering British film producer. Growing up in the affluent Greenwich district, Day-Lewis was exposed to both literature and performance from an early age, though he often felt the weight of his family’s literary legacy. His father’s reserved and scholarly nature contrasted with his mother’s deep love for cinema and theater, shaping his dual passion for storytelling and performance. However, his childhood was not without struggle—he often felt like an outsider and had difficulties conforming to the rigid expectations of his privileged upbringing. Sent to the Sevenoaks School in Kent, he found the environment oppressive, leading him to develop a rebellious streak, often getting into trouble. This phase of defiance was tempered when he transferred to Bedales, a more progressive school that encouraged his growing interest in acting. The early death of his father when Daniel was just 15 deeply affected him, further cementing his tendency toward introspection and his later reputation for immersive, emotionally intense performances.
Competence
Daniel Day-Lewis’s training as an actor was a blend of formal education and intense, self-driven exploration of his craft. After developing an early interest in acting at Bedales School, he secured a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he trained in classical theater. His time there was rigorous, as he learned the technical foundations of performance, including voice control, movement, and stage presence. However, unlike many of his peers, Day-Lewis was not drawn to a traditional acting trajectory; he was deeply influenced by method acting and the immersive techniques of performers like Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro. While at the Bristol Old Vic, he simultaneously honed his skills through hands-on stage work, performing in productions with the Bristol Old Vic company and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His early theatrical roles demanded emotional depth and physical endurance, reinforcing his commitment to complete character immersion. Day-Lewis’s approach to acting became increasingly intense, even in minor film roles, as seen in Gandhi (1982), where he meticulously studied the behavior and mannerisms of his character despite limited screen time. This dedication foreshadowed his later reputation as one of the most disciplined and transformative actors of his generation.
Creation
Daniel Day-Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation, known for his transformative performances and method acting approach. Over the course of his career, he won three Academy Awards for Best Actor—more than any other male actor—for My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012). In My Left Foot, he portrayed Christy Brown, an Irish writer and artist with cerebral palsy, fully immersing himself in the role by staying in character throughout filming. His performance in There Will Be Blood as the ruthless oilman Daniel Plainview was hailed as one of the greatest in cinematic history, showcasing his ability to bring raw intensity and depth to his characters. He also received critical acclaim for Gangs of New York (2002), where he played the menacing Bill the Butcher, and The Last of the Mohicans (1992), in which he physically transformed himself by living in the wilderness to embody his character. His portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012) further demonstrated his meticulous approach, as he fully inhabited the persona of the U.S. president, earning widespread acclaim. Other notable films include The Age of Innocence (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993), and Phantom Thread (2017), his final film before retiring. Throughout his career, Day-Lewis was known for his selectiveness, often taking years between roles, and his total commitment to each character, which cemented his legacy as one of the most respected and enigmatic actors in cinema history.
Links
Meryl Streep Links – https://www.simplystreep.com/
Daniel Day Lewis Films - Films – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000358/
Abhishek Shetty