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It has been quite some time since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously immerses himself in the roles he plays – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – audiences has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I’m a little cross these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which I think is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and these elements typically include some form of self-punishment or a situation that imposes upon oneself extreme unease or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

An Industry Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears like the actor has emerged from his retreat and found himself aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring two days 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 imitating your hero.

Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by 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 for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The foremost practitioner of the Method at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).

The actor says he ‘never intended to retire, really’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight

And, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to just start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.