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It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method

Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career for a performer, it has to mainly focus on the internal work.”

A World of Imitators

To be honest, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach includes striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and used condoms, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).

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

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight

And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely we could all get behind that.