It’s been a long while since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your approach includes striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-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 currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants 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 start making more films. Surely we could all support that idea.
