It’s been a long while since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims 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 slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
