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It has been quite some time since anyone saw or heard from Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 declaring he would cease to pursue acting, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor quietly faded from view. Yet, in his absence, his reputation expanded further.

The Mythos of His Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored style of working. As someone who famously immerses himself in his characters – for example, while filming the Lincoln biopic, reportedly asked the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – audiences has grown more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Was it accurate that he only eat animals he’d killed for Last of the Mohicans? And did he insist on receiving food via spoon while filming My Left Foot?

Madness in their method: has the public lost interest with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is using this to vocalise his anger regarding how method acting 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 seems suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in an extreme fashion,” he stated to a major publication. “Everyone tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-flagellation or a situation that imposes upon oneself a severe discomfort or mental instability. However, in the life for a performer, it must mainly focus on the internal work.”

An Industry of Imitators

To be honest, it appears as if the actor has come out from his retreat only to discover aghast at the world that has developed mirroring his methods. When you are widely considered one of the greatest actors in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (for Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by trying to mimic their idol.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they invest in a character. At the shallow end of the pool we have people like Lady Gaga, who was determined to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she became an Italian native for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “disturbing” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, range from deceased animals to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although Leto denied the most extreme claims. And 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 feature-length documentary from behind-the-scenes footage of him causing difficulties to the utmost for his colleagues.

The Modern Method Practitioners

The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once an assistant to Day-Lewis), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the subject of a derisive New Yorker profile, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself that worries me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by his actions (“I recall him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” said an anonymous cast member).

The actor says he ‘did not plan to stop acting, really’

We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex over half a year for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass during The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, is meant to invoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

A Noble But Uphill Battle

Moreover, although his rebuttal to critics of the Method could be commendable, a short publicity tour might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply start making additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.