It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand 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, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, 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 as if the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
