It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that causes 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, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.
