It has been a long while since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Did he really send 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 for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as among the best performers in history, and your process includes striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
