It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (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 your hero.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only 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 so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could 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 while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
