It has been a long while since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly 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 people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex 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 in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
