It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds like the actor has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best performers to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Surely we could all get behind that.
