It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored style of working. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did 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: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement 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.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded 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 currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable But Uphill Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes 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 simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
