It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Largely, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if the actor has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll 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 would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Perhaps 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 begin producing more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.
