It has been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover shocked by the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment full of 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 the pool 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 in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would get behind that.
