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It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would no longer work as an actor, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. However, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Mythos Surrounding His Acting Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. Being an actor known for disappears into the roles he plays – for example, during Lincoln, he had the director address him as “Mr. President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with his process. Is it true he actually sent texts to Sally Field in character as Lincoln? Was it accurate that he consumed solely game he hunted during Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

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

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays when I hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in an extreme fashion,” he told the New York Times. “People tends to focus on the less important details of the work, and these elements always seem to involve some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

To be honest, it appears like the actor has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has developed in his image. If you’re regarded as one of the greatest performers in history, and your approach involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or enduring 48 hours in isolation deprived of sustenance (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by imitating their idol.

Essentially, we now live in a landscape populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to demonstrate 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 with House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion trying to convince everyone that she became functionally Italian for a year and a half in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to deeply embed himself into the role of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, according to various accounts, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, although the actor refuted those worst excesses. And then, naturally, 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 out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The foremost Method Guy currently seems to be Jeremy Strong (formerly Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process while filming Succession was so laboriously intensive that it became the basis of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from people who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost to himself concerns me,” remarked co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I remember him causing everyone else roll their eyes,” stated an anonymous cast member).

Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘did not plan to retire, truly’

We have so many other examples. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass for The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, three years after the movie’s release. Each of these instances, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication in which Day-Lewis takes his craft.

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, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wants to make audiences recall what method acting is, or to show them what it can achieve, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to simply begin producing additional movies. Certainly everyone would get behind that.