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It has been a long while since anyone saw or heard from the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Mythos of His Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred style of working. As someone known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, reportedly asked the director call him “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely animals he’d killed during Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: have we fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days when I hear all kinds of people gobbling off and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that a person’s acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “Everyone often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life of an actor, it has to mainly focus on the inner transformation.”

An Industry Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself shocked by the acting community that has been created in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your approach includes striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending 48 hours in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will attempt to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.

In other words, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side 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 trying to convince everyone that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and used condoms, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they literally managed in creating a full-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for his colleagues.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy at the moment would appear to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll on himself concerns me,” said Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).

The actor claims he ‘did not plan to stop acting, truly’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, years following that film came out. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable But Uphill Fight

Moreover, 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 remind people the true essence of the Method, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly we could all get behind that.