🔗 Share this article

It has been a long while since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Legend of His Method

Primarily, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his anger at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”

A World of Imitators

To be honest, this sounds like the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.

Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side 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 whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by 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, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties 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 rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).

The actor says he ‘did not plan 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 during 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, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

A Noble But Uphill Fight

Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.