After tonight’s Academy Awards, it may be awhile before we see the talents of Daniel Day-Lewis come to life again on the silver screen.
The 55-year-old actor, nominated for “Lincoln” in what could earn him a historic third Best Actor Oscar, has revealed that he will retire for five years to spend time with his family and enjoy life on his 50-acre farm in Co Wicklow, south of Dublin.
The London Sunday Times reports that Day-Lewis has told friends he’s interested in learning rural skills such as stonemasonry. Such pursuits match earlier passions – including a life-long love of woodworking and a stint in the late 90s apprenticing as a shoemaker in Italy.
“My life as it is away from movie set is a life where I follow my curiosity just as avidly as when I am working,” he told the UK Guardian in 2008. “It is with a very positive sense that I keep away from the work for a while. It has always seemed natural to me that that in turn should help me in the work that I do.”
And as for retreating to a rural lifestyle, far away from the glitz of tonight’s Oscars, Day-Lewis says that too is key to his success as an actor.
“In a rural parish,” he explains, “you become utterly unnoticeable. Or that’s the impression I have. I couldn’t work or get ready for a piece of work from a city base, from city life. I need deep, deep quiet and a landscape too that I can be absorbed into. So much of the work is in the process of aimless rumination in which things may or may not take seed.”
Some say Day-Lewis’ sabbaticals from acting and his personal interests are “eccentric,” but damn it all if they don’t sound smart. Time with family, a full life of passions outside acting, and the solitude to appreciate it all. That’s just good living. Good luck tonight, Daniel – but have fun these next five years. It’s worth waiting for your next amazing role.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
About Michael dEstries
Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.View all posts by Michael dEstries →
