It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Legend Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process includes striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable 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. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Surely everyone would get behind that.
