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It’s been quite some time since the public caught a glimpse of the acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Following his announcement in 2017 declaring he would no longer work as an actor, just before the debut of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis quietly faded from view. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Legend Surrounding His Method

Primarily, this legend centers on his preferred approach to roles. As someone who famously disappears into his characters – for instance, while filming the Lincoln biopic, he had Steven Spielberg call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has grown more fascinated with his process. Is it true he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely game he hunted during The 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 fallen out of love with over-the-top performances?

Currently, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, promoting his latest movie Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger at how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear all kinds of people talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which seems is meant to imply that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” 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 a situation that causes a severe discomfort or psychological strain. However, in the life for a performer, it has to principally be about the inner transformation.”

A World Full of Followers

Frankly, this sounds like Day-Lewis has emerged from seclusion and found himself 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 approach includes headbutting a dummy to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in isolation without food or water (for In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that fellow performers will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we exist in an environment full of half-cocked Day-Lewis impersonators who strive only to show the world the sheer amount of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of this trend we have people like Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she dedicated the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native for a year and a half as preparation.

Then we have Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to fellow cast members. These items, depending on who you ask, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted the most extreme claims. Then, of course, there is Jim Carrey, who went so deep as Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon that they succeeded to get a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life to the utmost for his colleagues.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The foremost 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 subject of a derisive magazine feature, full of quotes from individuals who were either concerned about his conduct (“The toll to himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by it (“I recall [him] making everyone else to react with exasperation,” stated an unnamed co-star).

Daniel Day-Lewis claims he ‘never intended to stop acting, really’

There are numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield went celibate for six months while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio slept in a dead animal during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that Austin Butler continues to talk in the style of Elvis, three years after that film came out. All of this, to some extent, aims to evoke the dedication with which Day-Lewis approaches his work.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Fight

And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a brief promotional cycle might not be enough to alter perceptions, not to mention their behaviour. Maybe if he wishes to make audiences recall the true essence of the Method, or to demonstrate its potential results, then Day-Lewis’s best bet is to just begin producing additional movies. Surely everyone would support that idea.