It’s been a long while since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Largely, this legend centers on his favored style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
