It has been a long while since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as 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 the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.
