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It has been a long while since the public saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Legend Surrounding His Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?

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

Currently, Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”

An Industry of Imitators

To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best performers to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation 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 imitating your hero.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half as preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The foremost practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).

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

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable But Uphill Battle

And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, 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 Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.