It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for 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, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool 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 became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
