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It’s been a long while since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to pursue acting, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.

The Legend Surrounding His Method

Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with his process. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: have we lost interest with actorly excess?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone often concentrate on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or an experience that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or mental instability. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the internal work.”

A World of Imitators

Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from his retreat and found himself aghast at the world that has developed in his image. If you’re 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 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.

In other words, we exist in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool 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 an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “disturbing” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself that worries me,” said Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).

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

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

A Noble Yet Challenging Fight

Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.