It has been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply 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-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. 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 attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
