It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include 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 has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best performers in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps 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 simply begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
