It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion 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 immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.
