Daniel Day-Lewis Adheres to his Stance of Staying Retired

The three-time Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis is a renowned retired actor who has contributed to the cinematic world by appearing in numerous incredible films. It feels heartbreaking to know that such an iconic actor has taken a permanent hiatus and has no plans of reviving his acting career. It’s indeed hard to believe so, as the actor is just 66.  

Day-Lewis’ has worked with celebrated filmmaker Jim Sheridan, who shared during an interview with Screen Daily that the actor may never return to the big screen. He also revealed Day-Lewis’ disdain for all the poor choices “streamers” offer. Sheridan said, “He says he’s done. I keep talking to him. I’d love to do something with him again. He’s like everybody else; he opens up the streamers, and there are seven thousand choices, but none of them are good. The film has been moved out of the public domain into a private domain – you have a remote, you can stop it. It’s not the same experience. It’d be great to see Daniel coming back and doing something ‘cos he’s so good.”

Day-Lewis may not be a fan of streaming services. But fans of his work can relive his award-winning career on several of those platforms. 

Day-Lewis last appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson’s directed film Phantom Thread. The film earned him an Oscar nomination. It was Day-Lewis’s sixth nomination of his illustrious career. He is also the recipient of great honors like the Academy Award. He won the Oscars trophy thrice for Best Actor in a Leading Role in films including My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln.

In 2017, the actor decided to quit his acting career. However, it was not a decision he made before filming Phantom Thread. He said in an interview with W Magazine at the time:

“Before making the film, I didn’t know I was going to stop acting. I do know that Paul [Thomas Anderson] and I laughed a lot before we made the movie. And then we stopped laughing because we were both overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. That took us by surprise: We didn’t realize what we had given birth to. It was hard to live with. And still is.”

Phantom Thread is available to stream on Netflix.