What Happened to Daniel Day-Lewis? Where the Actor Is Today After 7-Year Hollywood Hiatus

After earning critical acclaim for roles in several drama films over a span of three decades, Daniel Day-Lewis shocked the world when he announced his retirement from acting in 2017. Since then, fans have wondered what happened to the Lincoln star. Shockingly, he will be making his Hollywood return after a seven-year hiatus. 

What Happened to Daniel Day-Lewis?

The England-born entertainer kicked off his acting career in the early ‘80s with roles in Artemis 81, Frost in May and The Bounty. Daniel won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1990 for his role in My Left Foot. He went on to bring home the honor two more times for his work in 2007’s There Will Be Blood and 2012’s Lincoln. 

Daniel made his most recent acting appearance in 2017’s Phantom Thread, in which he received another Academy Award nomination. He lost to Gary Oldman who took home the Best Actor Award for his work in Darkest Hour.  

Why Did Daniel Day-Lewis Retire From Acting? 

Before attending the 2018 Academy Awards, it was announced in a statement that Daniel would be stepping away from acting. 

“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor,” his rep, Leslee Dart, said in a statement to Variety in June 2017. “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. ” 

The Nine actor later revealed the reason behind his decision to leave Hollywood. 

“I knew it was uncharacteristic to put out a statement,” he told W Magazine in November 2017. “But I did want to draw a line. I didn’t want to get sucked back into another project. All my life, I’ve mouthed off about how I should stop acting and I don’t know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do.”

Where Is Daniel Day-Lewis Today?

Daniel has kept a pretty low profile since making his retirement announcement. In May 2023, the Gandhi actor was spotted out during a rare public appearance with his wife, Rebecca Miller, in New York City. The couple share two children, sons Ronan and Cashel. Daniel is also a dad to his eldest child, Gabriel-Kane, whom he welcomed with ex-girlfriend Isabelle Adjani.

In March 2024, Jim Sheridan, who worked with Daniel on several films, said that he did not think the star would ever return to acting.

“He says he’s done, I keep talking to him,” the My Left Foot director told ScreenDaily. “I’d love to do something with him again. He’s like everybody else, he opens up the streamers and there’s seven thousand choices, none of them are good.”

The comments were a bit of a letdown for those anticipating a big Hollywood return for the Oscar winner.

“Film has been moved out of the public domain into a private domain — you have a remote, you can stop it,” he added. “It’s not the same experience. It’d be great to see Daniel coming back and doing something ‘cos he’s so good.”

Daniel Day-Lewis Is Returning to Acting

But it turns out, Daniel decided to return to acting after all! In October 2024, it was revealed by Focus Features and Plan B that Daniel would be starring in Ronan’s directorial debut, Anemone. The film also stars Sean Bean and Samantha Morton and was cowritten by Daniel and Ronan. It will mark Daniel’s first acting appearance in seven years.

According to the press release, the film “explores the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds.”

“We could not be more excited to partner with a brilliant visual artist in Ronan Day-Lewis on his first feature film alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as his creative collaborator,” Focus Features Chairman, Peter Kujawski, said in a statement. “They have written a truly exceptional script, and we look forward to bringing their shared vision to audiences alongside the team at Plan B.”

The announcement came after Daniel made a rare public appearance in January 2024 to present Martin Scorsese with a National Board of Review award for Best Director for Killers of the Flower Moon. Martin said that working with Daniel on 2002’s Gangs of New York and 1993’s The Age of Innocence was “one of the greatest experiences of my life.” He teased that maybe there was another collaboration in the pipeline, saying, “Maybe there’s time for one more.”