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It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.

The Legend of His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”

An Industry of Imitators

Frankly, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Followers of the Method

The main Method Guy currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).

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

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

A Noble Yet Challenging Fight

Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.