It has been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are widely considered among the best performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
Essentially, 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 dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.