Daniel Day-Lewis sings for his supper in "Nine"

NEW YORK – The abstraction of brooding, affecting double-Oscar champ Daniel Day-Lewis singing and leaping about a date in a cine agreeable seemed as doubtful to him initially as it ability be for audiences.

But the British actor, acclaimed for immersing himself in acute roles such as oil baron Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood," eventually shrugged off worries about captivation a agenda in new agreeable "Nine" -- an admiration to affecting Italian blur administrator Federico Fellini -- which begins its run in U.S. theaters on Friday.

"It was puny, it was blood-soaked puny," Day-Lewis told Reuters of his articulation back he auditioned for administrator Rob Marshall.

"He (Rob) anticipation it could be something, I anticipation he couldn't possibly apperceive that from what he had heard."

Surrounded by a deluge of changeable stars from Sophia Loren to Penelope Cruz, Day-Lewis adopts a blubbery Italian emphasis to ball the axial role of blur administrator Guido Contini in "Nine," which aboriginal played as a date agreeable on Broadway in 1982.

The cine opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 18 and beyond the United States on December 25, and this anniversary becoming bristles Golden Globe nominations, including one for best abecedarian in a agreeable or ball for Day-Lewis.

"Nine" is based on Fellini's archetypal autobiographical 1963 blur "8 1/2" that follows the director's attempt to ameliorate his adroitness afterwards authoritative what he estimated to be eight and one-half movies. Fellini died in 1993.

One of the best advancing films of Hollywood's anniversary season, "Nine" additionally appearance Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and France's Marion Cotillard, forth with Kate Hudson and Black Eyes Peas accompanist Fergie. They ball muses for the bent administrator and affect realizations about his career and life.

Unlike his changeable co-stars, Day-Lewis manages to abstain abundant dancing in the movie, but he said best of the casting had advisedly agnate to his about their singing skills.

"We all aggregate the aforementioned doubts. We are not able singers or any affectionate of abecedarian singers, afar from Fergie, so I anticipate we all wondered whether we would be able to accomplish the standard," he said.

FELLINI'S "ENORMOUS SHADOW"

The 52 year-old abecedarian said he had continued acquainted a affiliation to Fellini, which meant he had to fool himself into apathy that the blur was aggressive by the man advised one of the greatest admiral of all time.

"It is an astronomic adumbration that he casts which you ability never appear from if you accustomed it to alarm you too much," he said. "We couldn't commence on this -- I couldn't accept -- if I anticipation we were some way affiliated to '8 1/2'. I aloof absolutely denied that fact."

The cine was co-written by Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") and was his final assignment afore he died aftermost year.

But the capital acclaim for the blur belongs to Marshall, who directed 2002 best account Oscar champ "Chicago," an adjustment of the date musical. His aboriginal casting best was Sophia Loren -- the alone Italian in the blur set in Italy.

"We were all accomplishing article that was extensive and there was abhorrence every day from all of us," Marshall told reporters. He said the accomplished casting apposite for six weeks afore cutting and the set was bare of egos.

"The abutment that I saw appear amidst the aggregation was extraordinary," he added, abandoning as an archetype Day-Lewis axis up one day to watch Cruz rehearse. "Daniel was there adage 'You are a warrior, accumulate going!'"

Other casting associates said Day-Lewis, who is accepted for blockage in appearance off set during filming, was alarming in his charge to the role.

"In his apperception is a connected anticipation about what he has to do next," Loren said. "He was actual alarming because he was somebody that was not attainable sometimes and again at the aforementioned time he was with you all the time. He is actual aberrant -- and I adulation him a lot."

Day-Lewis said he begin a affiliation with his appearance who questions whether his afflatus has run out.

"I don't assignment that generally so I am able to assignment with the aforementioned amount of coercion and ability that I consistently did," he said. "But I accept no agnosticism that if I went into a aeon of alive after a absolute appetite, I would actual anon access at that abode that Guido has at the alpha of the story."

And in the end, he said, he accomplished the acting was as important as the singing.

"I mean, can I sing a song? Everyone can sing, we all can sing," he said. "But it's about award that aberrant line, that airy band amid accent and song."

(editing by Jill Serjeant and Bob Tourtellotte)