Oscar Award winning actorDaniel Day-Lewishas decided to quit acting. Again. The highly selective British born method actor has taken less roles over the years, but has remained in high demand. Day-Lewis has gained praise for hischameleon like versatilityand intense acting chops, often not leaving character, even off-screen. During the filming ofLincoln, cast and crew had to refer to Day-Lewis as Mr. Lincoln while on set. His stage career came to an end in 1990 when he walked out of a performance of Hamlet, claiming that he had seen the ghost of his late father and quit acting in the early 2000s,disillusioned with Hollywood.
Varietyreports that Daniel Day-Lewis has not given a reason for his statement. Day-Lewis' representative, Leslee Dart had this to say.
“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is aprivate decisionand neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”
The 60-year old Day-Lewis has one final movie, Paul Thomas Anderson’sPhantom Threadset to hit theaters on December 25th, 2017 and according to an inside source, Day-Lewis will be on hand to do press for the upcoming movie.Phantom Threadis a drama that takes place in the world of high fashion and marks a reunion for Thomas Anderson and Day-Lewis who had previously worked on 2007’sThere Will Be Blood, which earned the actor an Oscar for best actor.
Daniel Day-Lewis is the first male actor to have won three Oscars for the lead actor category. He won for Steven Spielberg’sLincoln, Anderson’sThere Will Be Blood, and Jim Sheridan’sMy Left Footwhile also being nominated forThe Gangs of New York. In addition to Oscars, Day-Lewis has also won four BAFTA awards for best actor, three Screen Actors Guild awards, and two Golden Globes as well as earning knighthood at Buckingham Palace in June of 2014.
Daniel Day-Lewis returned to acting after a 5-year absence in 2002 for Scorsese’sGangs of New York. For his role, Day-Lewis took lessons as an apprentice butcher, hiring a butcher from South London to teach him how to carve up carcasses. In addition, the actor also hired a circus performer to teach him how to throw knives. While filming he was never out of character, even when he developed pneumonia. The performance earned him his third Academy Award nomination and his second BAFTA award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Though it looks as if Daniel Day-Lewis is done acting for now, maybe he’ll make a return to the craft at some point. He’s only 60 years old and he’s one of the most celebrated actors of his generation. Those left wanting more Day-Lewis can check him out in Paul Thomas Anderson’sPhantom Threadin December. Hopefully by then the actor will have an update on his decision to walk away from it all.
