Why You Rarely Hear About Daniel Day-Lewis Nowadays

While playing "Hamlet" at the National Theatre in 1989, Daniel Day-Lewis overwhelmed the public but said he would retire from theatre acting. The actor reportedly revealed that he saw his father's ghost, although he tried to deny it years later. "To some extent, I probably saw my father's ghost every night, because of course, if you're working in a play like Hamlet, you explore everything through your own experience," he said, per The Guardian.

It is easy to understand why Day-Lewis takes long breaks between films by looking at how he prepares for each character — the actor dives completely into method acting for his movies and plays. While filming "My Left Foot," Day-Lewis spent most of the days in a wheelchair, and his co-workers had to help him move on set. According to Esquire, he also spent eight weeks in a cerebral palsy clinic in Dublin and learned how to paint and write with his foot. Although some say he took things too far, his dedication to the craft is undeniable.

He also learned Czech for his role in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Although the movie was in English, the book was originally published in Czech.