It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend of His Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People 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 psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as among the best actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy 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), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
