It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it has to principally be about the internal work.”
An Industry of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover shocked by the world that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach involves 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 attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
