It has been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
