Triple Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis retiring from acting

By Jill Serjeant

 

Daniel Day-Lewis celebrates after winning the Best Actor award for "Lincoln" at the British Academy of Film and Arts (BAFTA) awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London in this file photo dated February 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring from acting, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday, ending a storied movie career that includes performances in "Lincoln" and "Gangs of New York."

 

Day-Lewis, 60, the only man to have won three best actor Oscars, gave no reason for his decision, calling it private.

 

"Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor," his publicist, Leslee Dart, said in a statement. "He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years."

 

The statement said there would be no further comment.

 

He has one more movie in the works -- "Phantom Thread," which is set in London's 1950s fashion world and is due to be released in December.

 

Day-Lewis, who was born in Britain and holds dual Anglo-Irish citizenship, won his third best actor Oscar in 2013 for playing U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in "Lincoln."

 

His win made him the first man to be awarded three best actor Oscars in the history of the Academy Awards.

 

He previously won Academy Awards for his roles as a paraplegic Irish writer in "My Left Foot" (1989) and a greedy early 20th century oil baron in "There Will Be Blood" (2007).

 

The tall, intellectual actor keeps a low-key profile and is known for choosing his roles carefully and taking long breaks between films.

 

In the late 1990s, he took time off from acting to work as an apprentice shoe-maker in Italy. After his 2013 Oscar win for "Lincoln," London's Sunday Times reported that he planned to take a sabbatical at his farm in Ireland.

 

Day-Lewis is known for his meticulous preparation. For "Lincoln," he spent months researching Lincoln's political and personal life and before shooting began he was texting his screen wife, Sally Field, in 19th century vernacular.

 

"For My Left Foot," he spent weeks living in a wheelchair, and while shooting "Gangs of New York" he was known for sharpening knives between takes to capture the menace of his character Bill "The Butcher" Cutting.

 

Day-Lewis has three children and is married to writer and director Rebecca Miller.

 

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-21

This guy is the real deal. Retiring while he's still at the top of his game, and leaving an impeccable history, rather than accepting trash roles just for a huge paycheck. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino should take notice. It's called integrity, and Daniel Day-Lewis has it.

I love Day-Lewis as an actor, and he's probably a pretty cool fellow in real life.  

 

A shame but can understand why.  Top Actor wants now to have a life.  Maybe one day he will come back.  Never say never.  

 

 

2 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

I love Day-Lewis as an actor, and he's probably a pretty cool fellow in real life.  

 

I loved the story where he took a sabbatical from acting and ended up working as a cobbler. 

4 hours ago, curtklay said:

This guy is the real deal. Retiring while he's still at the top of his game, and leaving an impeccable history, rather than accepting trash roles just for a huge paycheck. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino should take notice. It's called integrity, and Daniel Day-Lewis has it.

Agree., but i seem to remember that he retired before, some years ago. He went somewhere obscure and started a business making wooden furniture. I think he came out of retirement to do 'The boxer' or some such movie.

                                   I glob Day-Lewis together with Jeremy Irons - both cool cats.

 

                              I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but frankly, I don't think acting takes a whole lot of skill.  Marlon Brando, in his later years, said much the same, though using better words.

 

In my view, welding or climbing rocks takes more skill.  

 

                           Acting involves memorizing script and movements, ......and what else?    Beyond that, acting is pretending, and leans a lot on an individual's dynamism.  Thieves are rather good at pretending.   Perhaps there should be Oscars for them also.  An annual expensive gala event, where thieves praise other thieves, and give gold covered statues to their brethren.