It’s been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, during Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers 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.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
