It’s been quite some time since the public 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, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Largely, this legend centers on his favored style of working. As someone known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I 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 told a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll 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 would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly 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 people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
And, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
