It has been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – 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? Did he only eat animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation 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.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds 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 involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by 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 the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though 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 filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months 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 the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe 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 simply begin producing more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
