It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear various individuals gobbling off 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 a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
