Daniel Day-Lewis is arguably one of the most influential and inspiring actors of his time. He’s well known for the incredible lengths he goes to in order to get into character for each of his roles, and the memorable performances that ensue.
Given that he’s won three of the five Oscars he’s been nominated for in his time, you can’t deny his talent. He may even have inspired people to sign up to drama classes in Liverpool. So it was a great surprise to many when he announced his retirement from the profession in June this year, stating that Phantom Thread would be his final movie.
In an exclusive interview with W Magazine, he said that he didn’t know he was going to give up acting when he started working on the movie with Paul Thomas Anderson, the writer and director.
He said that the two of them “laughed a lot” before they made the movie. “But then we stopped laughing because we were both overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. That took us by surprise,” Day-Lewis revealed.
He also said that he has a “great sadness” about leaving acting behind, but added that this is “the right way to feel” given that he’s been interested in acting since he was 12. “Back then, everything other than the theatre – that box of light – was cast in shadow,” he explained.
Now though, he feels differently and wants to discover the world in a new way.
There’s no doubt that he’ll be missed on the big screen. Earlier this month, a poll conducted by Gold Derby named Day-Lewis as the top Best Actor Oscar Winner of the 2010s, for Lincoln.
