It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
In other words, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
