It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his anger at how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, 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. However, in the life for a performer, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers 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 isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
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 practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just begin producing more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
