It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears as if the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best performers to ever work, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree 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 earn an Academy Award with 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 as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating 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 (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
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 alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall 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 additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
