It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed 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 being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 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 trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents 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 the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘never intended to retire, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
