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It’s been quite some time since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.

The Mythos of His Acting Method

Primarily, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: have we fallen out of love with actorly excess?

Now, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to express 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 ‘gone full method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “Everyone 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 extreme unease or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created mirroring his methods. If you’re widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose approach while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I remember [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).

The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable But Uphill Battle

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would get behind that.