It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds like the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during 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 Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
