Daniel Day-Lewis, a three-time Best Actor Oscar winner, has announced that he’s quitting acting.
The 60-year-old announced his retirement from the screen and stage through his spokeswoman, Leslee Dart. He did not provide a reason for his abrupt departure.
“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor,” said Dart. “He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”
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Day-Lewis was widely regarded as one of the best in the business, and was considered highly versatile; his three Oscars for his performances — a wholly convincing Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, a terrifying oilman in There Will Be Blood and his turn as cerebral palsy sufferer Christy Brown in My Left Foot — illustrate his wide range and ability to inhabit any character.
He was also nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars, one for Gangs of New York and the other for In the Name of the Father.
The somewhat elusive method actor, who frequently took multiple-year breaks between projects (rumour has it he is very choosy with roles), has retired from acting before — in the first instance to work as an apprentice cobbler. Multiple reports state that director Martin Scorsese convinced Day-Lewis to come back to Hollywood to perform in Gangs of New York.
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This time around, Day-Lewis doesn’t appear to have any concrete reason for leaving showbiz. He has three children and is married to writer/director Rebecca Miller.
Naturally, Twitter users were quick to react to his departure.
Day-Lewis has one upcoming film, set to hit theatres on Christmas Day 2017. Called Phantom Thread, the drama follows a dressmaker (Day-Lewis) in 1950s London, who’s responsible for designing outfits for the upper crust of British society.
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