With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Daniel Day-Lewis faces criticism for giving a voice to Abraham Lincoln

Asking a British actor to play one of America’s great orators was always likely to prove controversial to US audiences.

But Daniel Day-Lewis may not have expected the level of criticism for the voice he has given to Abraham Lincoln in a new Steven Spielberg film.

Americans have complained that the Oscar-winning actor has given the 16th president a high-pitched, wavering tone that has been likened to both a 14-year-old boy and Mr Burns, the doddery cartoon character from The Simpsons.

Time magazine’s critic praised the British actor’s performance but noted that he speaks in a “thin, reedy” voice, while CBS News said the tone was “scratchy and not what audiences had come to expect”....

Related Links


HNN Hot Topics: "Lincoln": The Movie

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)