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It’s been a long while since the public caught a glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis. After he announcement in 2017 that he would cease to work as an actor, prior to the release of Phantom Thread, the actor withdrew from the spotlight. Yet, during his hiatus, his legend expanded further.

The Legend Surrounding His Method

Largely, this reputation revolves around his favored approach to roles. As someone known for immerses himself in the roles he plays – for instance, while filming Lincoln, he had the director call him “Mr President” throughout the shoot – the world has become more fascinated with how he works. Did he really send texts to Sally Field as Abraham Lincoln? Did he consumed solely animals he’d killed for The Last of the Mohicans? Did he demand receiving food via spoon for My Left Foot?

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Currently, Day-Lewis has returned in the limelight, with some hesitation, for his new film Anemone. He is using this to express his frustration at how the Method technique is perceived. “I’m a little cross nowadays to hear various individuals talking carelessly and saying things like ‘fully embraced the Method’, which I think suggests that a person’s behaving like a lunatic in a drastic way,” he told the New York Times. “People often concentrate on the less important aspects of acting, and those details typically include some form of self-punishment or an experience that causes a severe discomfort or mental instability. But of course, in the life for a performer, it must principally be about the internal work.”

An Industry of Imitators

Frankly, it appears like the actor has come out from seclusion only to discover shocked by the world that has been created in his image. If you’re widely considered among the best actors to ever work, and your approach includes striking a prop until you break your nose (in Gangs of New York) or spending two days in solitary confinement deprived of sustenance (for In the Name of the Father), it’s natural that other actors will want to fill that vacuum by imitating your hero.

Essentially, we now live in an environment populated by imperfect Day-Lewis impersonators who want nothing more than to demonstrate the extensive degree of dedication they invest in their roles. On the milder side of this trend there are performers such as Lady Gaga, who was determined to win an Oscar with House of Gucci that she spent the entire promotion attempting to persuade people that she transformed into an Italian native over 18 months as preparation.

Additionally, there is Jared Leto, who chose to immerse himself in the character of the Joker (in Suicide Squad) by sending “horrifying” presents to his castmates. These, according to various accounts, included deceased animals to intimate objects and personal hygiene products, though the actor refuted those worst excesses. 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 full-length documentary out of B-roll of him making life as impossible as he could for everyone around him.

Contemporary Method Practitioners

The main practitioner of the Method at the moment seems 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 critical magazine feature, including statements from individuals who were worried about his conduct (“It’s the cost on himself concerns me,” remarked Brian Cox) or extremely irritated by it (“I remember [him] making others to react with exasperation,” stated an anonymous cast member).

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We have numerous additional cases. Andrew Garfield abstained from sex for six months for Silence. Leonardo DiCaprio rested inside an animal carcass during The Revenant. It’s quite possible that actor Austin Butler still speaks like Elvis Presley, years following the movie’s release. All of this, to some extent, is meant to invoke the seriousness in which Day-Lewis approaches his craft.

An Admirable Yet Challenging Battle

And, while his fightback against method detractors might be noble, a short publicity tour may prove insufficient to change anyone’s mind, let alone their behaviour. Perhaps if he wishes to remind people what method acting is, 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.