How to Ruin Young Actors (Daniel Day Lewis...I don't Blame You)

Today, let us discuss film/critique/students/film critique/film students.

There is a disturbing trend in critiquing films that troubles me.
It is, in effect, this:
Film=Reality=Good.

The argument goes something like:

1. Film is like unto Reality
2. Reality is good.
3. Therefore, the more Film is like unto Reality, the better it is

This is a hyper simplistic version of a number of statements that I read in student critiques/hear actors discuss about performances in film.

With this in mind we get examples like:

"I really loved this film. It was super great. I really felt their emotions. I would act that way in those situations and therefore, it was good. I felt like I was really in the scenes."

-Everybody

So what does this do?
Well, I would normally say that this line of reasoning isn't of necessity wrong.
And it isn't.
Verisimilitude (n. truth-seeming) is a common, pragmatic, and often effective approach to art/movie making.
By treating the situations and acting/directing them "truthfully" or what some might call "faithfully" to "reality" (hashtag appropriate use of quotes) can often lead to good scenes and good movies.
The point that I am dancing around is that it is a style.

Verisimilitude is a style of film making.
See film is a crafted medium.
It is make believe.
But, for some reason, we do not like to be reminded of that.

There is an idea that needs to be addressed and dealt with.
I am talking about Daniel Day Lewis.

This man.
I adore everything about this man as a performer.
He is witty and charming and compelling and just wonderful.
And I hate him.

Daniel Day Lewis is probably one of the most brilliant actors ever.
I have never heard anyone dispute this claim.
However, he tends to be a little....well, notorious for blurring the line between performance and reality.

In The Unbearable Lightness of Being he taught himself Czech.
Nobody required it of him and it was American made, but that didn't stop him.
But, that is just good, clean character work.
Mr. Lewis goes further.

In The Last of the Mohicans Daniel Day Lewis refused to eat anything that he didn't kill himself.
Also he learned how to hunt and trap.

In In the Name of the Father Mr. Lewis spent time holed up in the penitentiary where the cast were shooting.
He spent whole nights there and kept himself awake for three days in preparation for an interrogation scene.
Reportedly, he had film crew throw water and verbal abuse at him to make it a more authentic performance.

In The Crucible Daniel Day Lewis didn't wash for the entire shoot to experiment with 17th century hygiene standards.

Reportedly also built the house and set that his character lived in. 

In My Left Foot Daniel Day Lewis insisted on being carried out of his wheel chair and have all of his meals spoon fed to him.

In Gangs of New York Daniel Day Lewis refused to wear non-period clothing.
He caught pneumonia.
Reportedly, he refused modern medicine as well.

Now, are any of these tales true?
I have no clue.
America has no clue.
Daniel Day Lewis may have no clue.

The point is that people believe them to be true.
And, what is more, learning artists and critics believe that in order for a truly phenomenal performance to manifest, they have to make it 'real'.
And why?
Because that is what Daniel Day Lewis does.

The mental process goes something like

1. Identify a great performance
2. What did they do to create that performance?
3. Emulate what they did.

The trouble with this is that each performer is unique and different

Yes.

You are all snowflakes.

Daniel Day Lewis has spent years honing his craft and has found something that works remarkably well for him.

Where I get worried is when young artists tend to be selective about the process.

Instead of:

1. Gangs of New York was a great performance by Daniel Day Lewis
2. He emulated the period and did a butt ton of research for the role
3. I should do a butt ton of research for my period role and see if it works

It goes more like:

1. Gangs of New York was a great performance by Daniel Day Lewis
2. He caught pneumonia for the role
3. I should catch pneumonia for the role

It may not be as blatant as that, but the point stands:

Cherry picking what makes a great performance great creates a culture of danger for actors.

 And it is systemic!
Whenever I hear film critics talk about what somebody "did" to "get into the role" red flags start flying.
Actors injure themselves in the middle of a shoot and keep acting:

Yes.
That is his blood.

Now, these are fun stories and actors and crew have fun retelling them.
And we, as audience, love to have a little window into the process.
But, by setting these moments and the actors who manage to "keep acting" on a pedestal....
Well, it creates that culture of danger I mentioned.

So what should we do?
Just stop acting? Stop producing films? Avoid these moments?
Well, no.

But, being a bit more selective about how they are presented is, I think, responsible.
By promoting this kind of acting/behavior in our film critiques, we have set it as the standard for all
That just isn't the case.

What can we do?

• Speaking of them as isolated incidents. Not every actor does this, not every actor needs to do this. Speaking about actors/great performances regardless of how they did what they did or exploring healthy ways to manifest a character would help
• Mentioning the ramifications on crew/family/life. Some are willing to pay the toll, but for those who aren't, mentioning the morale hit a set takes when an actor goes for the method gold can convince even the staunchest supporters. Don't believe me? Read some of the press about Shia LaBeouf (I should mention none of it is recent, but still)
• Downplaying the extreme behavior as what leads to the great performances. Nearly every learning actor I know has tried to pull a My Left Foot and have people carry them or done something silly dangerous in order to get into the part. But, what learning actor has ever learned another language? Or become a survivalist for their role? If you are unwilling to do the crazy technical stuff, you probably aren't ready to be treated like royalty either.