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It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After he statement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his reputation expanded further.

The Legend of His Acting Method

Primarily, this legend revolves around his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously immerses himself in his characters – for instance, during the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with his process. Did he actually sent 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 being spoon-fed while filming My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public fallen out of love with actorly excess?

Now, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to express his frustration regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he told a major publication. “People tends to focus on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or psychological strain. But of course, in the career for a performer, it has to principally be about the internal work.”

An Industry Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears as if Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as among the best actors in history, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or enduring two days in isolation without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by trying to mimic their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. On the milder side of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” gifts to his castmates. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a full-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing others roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).

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

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after that film came out. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight

And, although his rebuttal against method detractors could be commendable, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making more films. Certainly everyone would support that idea.