Daniel Day-Lewis (Getty Images)

It must be Oscar season, as the biggest and most traditional media outlets are suddenly devoting space to lengthy considerations of new movies. After last weekend's 60 Minutes profile of Lincoln director Steven Spielberg, Time has dropped a profile of the press-shy actor Daniel Day-Lewis. The profile spends time considering his widely-discussed and challenging method of preparing for roles by immersing himself into character. For Lincoln, Mr. Lewis, who plays Honest Abe, would text his co-star Sally Field nineteenth-century limericks.

“He’d sign it, ‘Yours, A.’ I would text back as Mary, criticizing him for the waste of his time when he might have been pursuing something more productive," said Ms. Field.

At least it was more loving treatment than Mr. Day-Lewis gave The Boxer costar Emily Watson, who told Time: "Daniel and I didn’t really speak—we agreed not to. I found that difficult. I found it quite lonely and isolating and a bit scary."