It has been a long while since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
