It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world 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 determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
