It has been a long while since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all get behind that.
