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It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.

The Mythos of His Acting Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

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

Now, Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things 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 tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

Frankly, this sounds like the actor has come out 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 in history, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people 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 (for Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from people who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

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

There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

A Noble Yet Challenging Battle

And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to remind people what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would get behind that.