It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.
The Mythos of His Method
Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Did he really send 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?
Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?
Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it must principally be about the internal work.”
A World Full of Followers
To be honest, it appears as if the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.
Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.
Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.
The Modern Method Practitioners
The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing others roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).
Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, really’
There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.
A Noble Yet Challenging Battle
And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.
