It’s been a long while 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 withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend has only grown.
The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method
Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor known for disappears into his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry of Imitators
To be honest, this sounds like Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion and found himself shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach includes striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’
We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
