In 2017, Daniel Day-Lewis announced this retirement after the release of “Phantom Thread”. Reflecting on his decision, he had told W magazine: "All my life, I’ve mouthed off about how I should stop acting... it was something I had to do."
It’s been seven years since Day-Lewis announced this second retirement. Some were skeptical that he would actually stay retired for long, but until today, he had stayed true to his word. That’s because the actor has just been spotted on the set of a film called “Avelyne,” with Sean Bean (via The Daily Mail). According to a local UK outlet, Bean, 65, plays the role of an ex-soldier and the film is set in the ’80s.
Day-Lewis, sporting handle bar facial hair, could be seen riding a motorcycle with Bean during the shooting of a scene. I can’t find anything about “Avelyne” online. Maybe Day-Lewis has decided to unretire only briefly, as a favor for a friend, that’s the most likely scenario, but who really knows.
It was just this year that Martin Scorsese hinted at collaborating with Day-Lewis for one more film during the National Board of Review awards ceremony: “We did two films together and it’s one of the greatest experiences of my life… maybe there’s time for one more.”
Wouldn’t it be great if Scorsese manages to get the actor to star in his upcoming adaptation of Marilynne Robinson’s “Home”? Day-Lewis would be perfect in the role of the father.
Day-Lewis has actually retired twice in his career. The 67-year-old actor originally decided to step away from acting following 1996's "The Boxer," leaving the craft and embarking into woodworking by becoming a cobbler. It was one of the weirder stories to emerge about him. This newfound passion in shoemaking resulted in him moving to Italy where he embarked on an apprenticeship with shoemaker extraordinaire Stefano Bemer.
Day-Lewis, a cinema giant, has a handful of landmark performances in his filmography, in such films as “There Will Be Blood,” “Gangs of New York,” “My Left Foot,” “Lincoln,” “In the Name of the Father” and “The Crucible.”