It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked 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 animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to express his anger at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed 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 concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
