🔗 Share this article

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 no longer pursue acting, just before the release of The Phantom Thread, Day-Lewis withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, in his absence, his legend has only grown.

The Mythos of His Method

Primarily, this reputation centers on his preferred approach to roles. Being an actor who famously disappears into his characters – for example, during the Lincoln biopic, he had the director call him “Mr President” for the entire production – the world has become increasingly obsessed with how he works. Did he really send messages to co-star Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed during The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand 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?

Now, Daniel Day-Lewis has returned to public attention, somewhat reluctantly, for his new film Anemone. He is taking this chance to vocalise his anger regarding how the Method technique is perceived. “I am somewhat annoyed these days to hear various individuals talking carelessly and using phrases like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that someone is acting insane in a drastic way,” he stated to the New York Times. “People tends to focus on superficial details of the work, and those details always seem to involve some sort of self-punishment or a situation that causes extreme unease or psychological strain. But of course, in the life of an actor, it must principally be about the inner transformation.”

An Industry of Imitators

Frankly, this sounds like the actor has come out from seclusion and found himself aghast at the acting community that has developed in his image. When you are regarded as one of the greatest performers to ever work, and your process involves striking a prop to the point of injury (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement without food or water (during In the Name of the Father), then it stands to reason that other actors will attempt to emulate that example by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we exist in a landscape populated by imperfect imitators of Day-Lewis who want nothing more than to show the world the extensive degree of dedication they put into their roles. At the shallow end of the pool there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was so desperate to earn an Academy Award for House of Gucci that she spent the whole campaign attempting to persuade people that she became functionally Italian over 18 months in preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who decided to immerse himself in the character as the Joker (for Suicide Squad) through sending “horrifying” gifts to fellow cast members. These, depending on who you ask, range from dead pigs and rats to anal beads and personal hygiene products, though Leto denied the most extreme claims. Then, of course, we have Jim Carrey, who immersed himself so fully into Andy Kaufman during Man on the Moon that they succeeded in creating a feature-length documentary out of B-roll of him causing difficulties to the utmost for everyone around him.

The Modern Followers of the Method

The foremost Method Guy at the moment seems to be Jeremy Strong (once Day-Lewis’s assistant), whose process during Succession was so laboriously intensive that it formed the subject of a derisive magazine feature, including statements from people who were either concerned for his behaviour (“The toll to himself concerns me,” said co-star Brian Cox) or annoyed beyond all measure by his actions (“I recall [him] making others roll their eyes,” stated an unnamed co-star).

Daniel Day-Lewis says he ‘never intended to stop acting, truly’

There are so many other examples. Andrew Garfield went celibate over half a year while preparing for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside a dead animal for The Revenant. There’s a fighting chance that actor Austin Butler continues to talk like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness with which Day-Lewis takes his work.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle

And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to alter perceptions, not to mention their practices. Maybe if he wishes to remind people 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. Surely everyone would support that idea.