It’s been a long while since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must principally be about the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. On the milder side 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 entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
