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It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend expanded further.

The Mythos Surrounding His Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, during Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? Did he insist on receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: have we lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his frustration at how method acting is viewed. “I’m a little cross these days when I hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems suggests that a person’s acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “People often concentrate on the less important details of the work, and those details typically include some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”

An Industry Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears like Day-Lewis has emerged from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your process includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (for 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 want to emulate that example by trying to mimic your hero.

In other words, we exist in a landscape populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they put into a character. On the milder side of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to intimate objects and used condoms, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. And then, naturally, we have Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Followers of the Method

The main Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a critical magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll on himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember him causing everyone else to react with exasperation,” said an anonymous cast member).

The actor says he ‘never intended to retire, really’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks in the style of Elvis, three years after the movie’s release. All of this, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

A Noble Yet Challenging Fight

Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their practices. Perhaps if he wishes to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then the optimal strategy for Day-Lewis is to simply begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would get behind that.