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It has been a long while since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Legend Surrounding His Method

Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?

Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly 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 often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”

An Industry of Imitators

To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect 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 there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months as 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, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

The Modern Method Practitioners

The main practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).

The actor claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

A Noble But Uphill Battle

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.