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Legendary actor Daniel Day-Lewis retires in typically mysterious fashion

At 60 years old, with three Oscars under his belt, actor Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring from acting, according to Variety.

Although there was no given reason for the actor’s sudden retirement, Day-Lewis’ spokeswoman said in a statement,

“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. ”

Widely considered to be perhaps the greatest actor in recent film history, Day-Lewis has played some of the most iconic roles of the past decades.

As the film kid on your freshman year dorm floor would have told you, Day-Lewis is one of the last method actors in film.

Method acting requires the practitioner to delve deep into the role, becoming the character that you are pretending to play.

It is a complicated and intense practice, wherein the actor often remains in character even when not on set.

Method acting can be a dangerous proposition, some actors lose their sense of self, but Day-Lewis’ performances are a testament to the craft.

Day-Lewis’ accomplishments are bountiful, becoming the only actor to win the best actor Oscar three different times.

His Oscar-winning portrayals came as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, and Christy Brown in My Left Foot.

His performances as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York and Garry Conlon in In the Name of the Father earned him two other Academy Award nominations.

Daniel Day-Lewis will leave film as one of the most elusive and fascinating actors in the modern era. He kept his private life completely out of the spotlight and seemed more committed to the stage than film.

Day-Lewis’ performance in There Will Be Blood as the marauding oilman Daniel Plainview is perhaps the best performance I have ever seen on a screen.

Daniel Day-Lewis will surely be missed. Although his roles were few and far between, his selection process for films was as rigorous and intense as anyone’s, there will be a large void left in the upper echelons of acting in his absence.

And now, he can have all the milkshakes.