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It has been quite some time since anyone caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, during his hiatus, his reputation has only grown.

The Mythos of His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. Being an actor who famously disappears into the roles he plays – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” for the entire production – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed during 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, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays to hear all kinds of people gobbling off and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”

A World of Imitators

Frankly, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself aghast at the world that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as among the best actors in history, and your approach involves headbutting a dummy until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.

In other words, we now live in a landscape full of half-cocked imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of effort they invest in a character. At the shallow end of this trend there are performers such as 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 transformed into functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed to get a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).

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

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

An Admirable But Uphill Fight

Moreover, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Surely everyone would support that idea.