Fans still hopeful for a return from celebrated actor Daniel Day-Lewis may need to accept the likelihood that his 2017 retirement announcement marked a permanent farewell. The star’s longtime director collaborator, Jim Sheridan, believes the end has come for the great method actor’s storied career.
Day-Lewis burst onto screens in the early 1970s and sculpted some of cinema’s most unforgettable characters over nearly five decades. His final role arrived in Paul Thomas Anderson’s highly acclaimed 2017 film Phantom Thread.
Since announcing his departure from acting, speculation has swirled about whether it represented a concluded or interim stage. Now, comments from Sheridan, who worked with Day-Lewis on landmarks like My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, and The Boxer, offer his strongest indication yet that retirement was definitive.
Speaking recently, Sheridan said the actor himself conveyed “he’s done” performing after achieving unprecedented acclaim, including an Oscar for Sheridan’s My Left Foot. While the director holds out private hopes, he acknowledges a shift in Day-Lewis unlike others who routinely pursue new projects.
Cinephiles will profoundly feel the icon’s missing presence if this proves the final word. Day-Lewis took the acting craft to new pinnacles through relentless immersions on set.
Per Sheridan, today’s overabundance of content leaves even the most dedicated artists struggling to find fulfilling work. If correct, Day-Lewis leaves an immense void, his brilliance shining as one of cinema’s brightest lights extinguished.
