It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his favored approach to roles. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease 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, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as among the best performers in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers 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 Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
