It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor known for disappears into his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed 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, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as among the best actors in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in 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 their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool 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 transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for 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, although Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Certainly we could all get behind that.
