It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement 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 their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
