It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears like the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
In other words, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
