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It’s been a long while since the public saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of 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 centers on his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?

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

Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to express his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career for a performer, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World of Imitators

Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat and found himself shocked by the acting community that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest actors to ever work, and your process involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into a character. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian over 18 months as preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The foremost practitioner of the Method currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that 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 seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

A Noble But Uphill Battle

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes 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. Surely we could all get behind that.