It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
