It’s 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, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds like the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your process involves striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (during 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 now live in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they 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.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
