It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in 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 as 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, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor says he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, 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 wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
