It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. 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 attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became 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,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims 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 rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.
