It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the world that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors 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 want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool 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 an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
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. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
