It’s been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.
The Legend of His Acting Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of effort they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
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 subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Certainly we could all get behind that.
