It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.
The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?
Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it must principally be about the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the world that has been created mirroring his methods. When you are widely considered among the best actors in history, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by imitating their idol.
In other words, we now live in an environment full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than 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 determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, included dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.
Contemporary Followers of the Method
The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would support that idea.
