It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to express his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. 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.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is 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 from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during 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, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
