It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
In other words, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. On the milder side of this trend 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.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-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 main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
