It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send 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 demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds like the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people 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 of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
