It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for 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.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
