Daniel Day-Lewis Says Adios To Acting

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Retirement.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It’s a place we all strive to be at some day in our lives. Well, this past Tuesday, the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis did just that. His spokeswoman, Leslee Dart, made it pretty clear:

“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. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”

Short, simple, and gracious.

In a strange way, I’m not really surprised by this announcement. The guy never seemed to be in love with the bright lights of Hollywood. I mean he became a cobbler in Ireland before Martin Scorsese convinced him to come out of semi-retirement for Gangs of New York. There was no rush to go to work. Before he eventually agreed to play our 16th President in Lincoln, he wrote director Steven Spielberg a personal letter turning down the role. How impressive it is telling someone to fuck off in the most thoughtful way possible.

A gentleman. Seriously.

He has a reputation of being very picky about his roles and has gone years without being in a single film. Nevertheless, when he does decide to do one, they’re well worth it. There’s a reason why he’s the only actor to win three Best Actor Oscars. From the stories I’ve read, his dedication is dazzling and each of his performances are mastered with pure precision.

Selfishly, I will miss his elegantly poignant Oscar speeches. He’s a genuine man that immerses himself deeply in to everything he truly loves. Or so it appears from the outside looking in. He has one more film that’s set in the world of high fashion to be released at the end of the year, and reunites him with his There Will Be Blood director, Paul Thomas Anderson. I just might get to hear one more speech after all.

Whether you’ll remember him as Bill the Butcher, Daniel Plainview, Hawkeye, or Christy Brown, Daniel has given us all he can. He’s allowed to live a normal life. We all are. And he’s certainly earned it.

Go live your life, DDL! Miss you already.

“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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