It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
