It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted 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 actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, it appears like the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
