It has been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication 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 entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, 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 immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
