It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds like the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re 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 two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication 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 spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, really’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just begin producing more films. Surely we could all get behind that.
