It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his anger regarding how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds like the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like 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 transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method 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 formed the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
