It has been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as 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 while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate 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 chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making more films. Surely we could all get behind that.
