It has been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best 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 isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year 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, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
