It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his anger at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by 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 we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals 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 in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
