The Renowned Actor Voices Annoyance Over Method Acting Being Compared to ‘Acting Insanely’ – And That’s Precisely the Reason We Love It

It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring 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 revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?

Currently, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”

A World Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has come out from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.

Then we have 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 items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

The Modern Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).

The actor claims he ‘never intended to retire, truly’

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

A Noble Yet Challenging Battle

Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Perhaps if he wants 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 just begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.