It has been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend centers on his favored style of working. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel 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 am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I 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 a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in 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 other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in 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 his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating 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 would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks 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 approaches his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
