It’s been a long while since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for 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 actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your process includes striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all support that idea.
