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 cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours 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 imitating your hero.
Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. 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 full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that 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 with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe 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 just begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
