"Making a film, setting it up and getting it cast and getting it together, is not an easy thing"
About this Quote
The intent feels defensive in the best way: a reminder that performance is only one spoke in a wheel. “Setting it up” points to financing, scheduling, locations, legal clearances - the unsexy infrastructure that determines what stories get told and which never leave a drawer. “Getting it cast” nods to the delicate politics of taste and marketability, where artistic fit competes with availability, budgets, and the gravitational pull of names that can unlock money. Even “together” implies how fragile the whole enterprise is: a film is less a singular artwork than a temporary coalition of workers, egos, and time.
In context, it’s also a subtle assertion of humility and authority at once. Day-Lewis isn’t bragging about craft; he’s aligning himself with crews and producers, implying that seriousness about acting includes seriousness about the system that makes acting possible. The line lands because it refuses romance and insists on reality - and in an industry built on illusion, that’s its own kind of honesty.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Day-Lewis, Daniel. (2026, January 16). Making a film, setting it up and getting it cast and getting it together, is not an easy thing. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/making-a-film-setting-it-up-and-getting-it-cast-120258/
Chicago Style
Day-Lewis, Daniel. "Making a film, setting it up and getting it cast and getting it together, is not an easy thing." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/making-a-film-setting-it-up-and-getting-it-cast-120258/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Making a film, setting it up and getting it cast and getting it together, is not an easy thing." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/making-a-film-setting-it-up-and-getting-it-cast-120258/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




