It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Largely, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to 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 acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says 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 slept in an animal carcass 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, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
