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It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 that he would no longer pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation has only grown.

The Legend of His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation centers on his preferred style of working. As someone known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, he had Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown increasingly obsessed with his process. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he only eat animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: 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 taking this chance to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals gobbling off and using phrases like ‘gone full method’, which seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on superficial aspects of acting, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the career of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”

A World of Imitators

To be honest, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your process includes 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), it’s natural that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic your hero.

Essentially, we exist in an environment populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Followers of the Method

The main practitioner of the Method at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” said an unnamed co-star).

Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to retire, truly’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months 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, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable But Uphill Fight

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly we could all support that idea.