It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native 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 (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although 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 in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), 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 worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.
