It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred style of working. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that 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?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as among the best performers in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical magazine feature, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
