It’s been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side 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 whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for 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, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wants 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 simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
