Reminds me of that quote by Oliver to Dustin Hoffman. Apparently, Hoffman (who was heavily into method in those days) was doing something crazy. Oliver supposedly quipped, "Why don't you just try acting, dear boy."
That said, I think the brilliance of the performance tends to justify some of the aggravation. And, from what I read, Daniel Day Lewis acted like a modern Abraham Lincoln. He wasn't, like, perplexed by cell-phones, he just adopted that personality, attitude and behavioral idiosyncrasies.
All that said, one of my friends worked on Broadway (small part) with Al Pacino. One night one of Pacino's people stopped my friend and said, "Can you come over hear for second. Al wants to touch you." He did, and Al touched his arm and walked away. These people are probably half-nuts to being with...