It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect 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 the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
