Though he's had long breaks from acting before, including a stint in the late 1990s when he went ahead with his intention to ditch it entirely and become a cobbler, only to return, Daniel Day-Lewis has now announced that he's committed to retiring from the acting life.
"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," says a statement from his spokeswoman Leslee Dart. "This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject." Of course, given that he's taken long breaks before, and that creative types – Steven Soderbergh was a more recent example – have announced retirement then returned, it remains to be seen if this sticks. But at 60 years old, and given the career he's enjoyed, you can't hold it against the man.
Considered one of the best actors of his generation, Day-Lewis has won three Oscars for a series of performances that saw him channel all manner of people from a variety of walks of life. He's played presidents and tyrants, businessmen and artists and worked with some of the best directors in the business.
And we're thankful that if this really is it for him as an actor, we have one more piece of work left to enjoy: he reunites with There Will Be Blood's Paul Thomas Anderson for the fashion world drama currently known as Phantom Thread, due out later this year.
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