It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with his process. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
