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It has been a long while since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.

The Legend Surrounding His Acting Method

Primarily, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, during Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand being spoon-fed for My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with actorly excess?

Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things 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. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it must principally be about the internal work.”

An Industry Full of Followers

To be honest, this sounds like the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (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 fellow performers will want to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.

Essentially, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).

The actor claims he ‘did not plan to retire, really’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his work.

A Noble Yet Challenging Battle

And, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people 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. Certainly everyone would support that idea.