It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. 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 out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
