It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he 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. Yet, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor known for disappears into his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?
Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?
Now, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”
A World of Imitators
Frankly, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best performers in history, and your process includes striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.
In other words, we exist in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.
The Modern Followers of the Method
The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).
The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’
There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Fight
Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.
