It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – 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 consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with 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, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
