It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend centers on his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days 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 their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, really’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
And, 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 behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
