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It has been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his statement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the debut of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation centers on his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming Lincoln, reportedly asked Steven Spielberg address him as “Mr President” throughout the shoot – audiences has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? And did he demand receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Extreme acting methods: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. And he is using this to vocalise his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross 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 a drastic way,” he stated to a major publication. “People tends to focus on superficial aspects of acting, and those details typically include some sort of self-flagellation or a situation that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the career of an actor, it must principally be about the internal work.”

A World Full of Followers

Frankly, this sounds as if Day-Lewis has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the acting community that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are regarded as among the best actors to ever work, and your process includes striking a prop until you break your nose (for Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.

In other words, we exist in a landscape full of imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who strive only to demonstrate the sheer amount of effort they invest in their roles. On the milder side of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to anal beads and used condoms, although Leto denied those worst excesses. And then, naturally, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that filmmakers succeeded to get a feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Followers of the Method

The main 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 formed the basis of a critical New Yorker profile, full of quotes from people who were worried for his behaviour (“The toll to himself that worries me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

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

There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, in part, aims to evoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis takes his work.

An Admirable But Uphill Battle

Moreover, while his fightback to critics of the Method might be noble, a brief promotional cycle may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Perhaps if he wants to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to show them its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just start making more films. Certainly we could all support that idea.