It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did 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?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger regarding 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 seems suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
