Earlier this month, Daniel Day-Lewis shocked the world when he announced his retirement from acting, with Paul Thomas Anderson‘s upcoming and tentatively titled fashion world drama “Phantom Thread” marking his final film. A terse statement was issued which declared, in part: “This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.” All we could do was speculate, and around The Playlist watercooler, I joked that the next time we hear about the actor, he’ll be unveiling his new line of clothes in Vogue. Well, it sounds like I might not be far off the mark.
According to The New York Post, Day-Lewis is breaking out the thread and turning his creative energies toward becoming a haute couture dressmaker. The actor has reportedly been thinking about giving up acting for a while now, and after playing a dressmaker in “Phantom Thread,” has found his new passion. The word is that Day-Lewis will do press rounds for Anderson’s film, but after that, he “will no longer be working as an actor,” as his previously issued statement declared.
This isn’t the first time fashion has lured Day-Lewis away from the movie set. Following “The Boxer” in 1997, the actor went into semi-retirement, and learned shoemaking in Italy, before returning five years later to star in Martin Scorsese‘s “Gangs Of New York.” This time around, however, it really sounds like Day-Lewis is done performing, but we’re eagerly looking forward to future Oscar ceremonies, when nominees are asked who they’re wearing, and they answer, “Daniel Day-Lewis.”