It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into a character. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
