It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, 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 went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
