It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
