It has been a long while since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor known for disappears into his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award 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.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
