It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy 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), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, 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 out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
