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It’s been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. However, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.

The Legend of His Acting Method

Largely, this legend revolves around his favored style of working. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has grown increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to express his frustration at how the Method technique is viewed. “I am somewhat annoyed nowadays when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think 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 superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some sort of self-flagellation or an experience that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life of an actor, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

To be honest, this sounds as if the actor has emerged from seclusion only to discover aghast at the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as among the best performers 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 (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we now live in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of effort they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to win an Oscar for House of Gucci that she dedicated the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully as Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The foremost practitioner of the Method currently would appear to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose approach during Succession was so rigorously detailed that it formed the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall him causing others to react with exasperation,” said an unnamed co-star).

The actor says he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

An Admirable But Uphill Battle

Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a short publicity tour might not be enough to change anyone’s mind, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.