It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Largely, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, 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 as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during 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. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just begin producing more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.
