It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to the New York Times. “People 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 mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
In other words, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.
Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).
The actor says he ‘did not plan to retire, really’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble But Uphill Battle
And, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.