The Renowned Actor Expresses Annoyance Over Method Acting Being Compared to ‘Acting Insanely’ – Which Is Exactly Why It Captivates Us

It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.

The Legend of His Method

Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?

Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People 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 causes extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears as if the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your approach involves striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.

In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to retire, really’

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

A Noble But Uphill Battle

Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.