It’s been quite some time 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, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of 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 example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration at 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 is meant to imply that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep 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 making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback 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 make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
