It’s been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.
The Mythos Surrounding His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we lost interest with actorly excess?
Now, 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 nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best actors in history, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.
Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Method Practitioners
The main practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.
