It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears as if the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum 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 show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. 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 actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
