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It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Mythos Surrounding His Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his favored style of working. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?

Now, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear various individuals gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

Frankly, it appears as if the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your process includes headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to emulate that example by imitating their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).

Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

A Noble But Uphill Battle

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people 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. Certainly we could all get behind that.