It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did 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 for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “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 a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, 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 inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Surely we could all get behind that.
