It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.
The Legend of His Method
Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred 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” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?
Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days 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 told the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”
An Industry Full of Followers
Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best performers in history, and your process includes striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.
Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar with 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 decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
