It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed 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 for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
A World of Imitators
To be honest, it appears like the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best performers in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating your hero.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wants 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. Certainly we could all support that idea.
