It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex 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. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Fight
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
