It’s been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had 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 in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for 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 has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 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 trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Surely we could all get behind that.
