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It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.

The Legend of His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?

Now, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger at how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that causes extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”

A World Full of Followers

Frankly, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.

In other words, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

The Modern Method Practitioners

The foremost Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process 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 (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass 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 dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

An Admirable But Uphill Fight

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.