It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear various individuals gobbling off 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 the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as among the best performers to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
