13 Daniel Day-Lewis Performances That Prove The Mad Genius Of His Notorious Method

Today, the Stanislavski Method is probably best known as the thin basis a certain type of actor uses to justify extreme behavior in service of a role. Whether it yields abusive mail or just straight-up abuse, the occasionally extreme, full-immersion, "don't address me by anything other than my character's name" approach to nurturing a performance has all but fallen out of favor with the public, but it still certainly has its adherents among performers. One of the most prominent is, of course, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Whether the man's spending pre-production learning Czech or forcibly pitching his voice a few octaves higher than normal to give a historically accurate version of the US's favorite president, his three Best Actor Oscars (not to mention his six total nominations) certainly suggest Stanislavski was onto something. Here's a brief rundown of how Day-Lewis devoted himself wholly and completely to a number of his roles.

Remember to vote up your favorite Daniel Day-Lewis performances.