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It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.

The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration 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 ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve 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 has to principally be about the inner transformation.”

An Industry of Imitators

To be honest, it appears as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as among the best performers to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as 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 as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Followers of the Method

The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).

The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight

Moreover, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly we could all get behind that.