A representative for three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis says the actor is retiring from acting. Day-Lewis' illustrious film career began in 1982 in the Best Picture Oscar-winning Gandhi, and will end in December with There Will Be Blood collaborator, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Day-Lewis, 60, is the only actor in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's history to win three Best Actor Oscars. His first Oscar came for the director Jim Sheridan's 1989 biopic My Left Foot, and second for the Anderson's 2007 oil boom drama There Will Be Blood. Day-Lewis' final Best Actor Oscar win came for the playing the titular role in director Steven Spielberg's 2012 historical presidential drama Lincoln - which also marked the last time he appeared on screen.

Day-Lewis' publicist, Leslee Dart, issued a statement on behalf of  the actor to Variety, confirming his retirement from acting:

"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."

Day-Lewis has been famously reclusive in Hollywood throughout his career, sometimes going years between projects. The actor was working as a cobbler in Europe when director Martin Scorsese persuaded him to play the vicious gang leader Bill "The Butcher" in Scorsese's historical crime drama, Gangs of New York.

After ing roles in such high profile films as 1984's The Bounty and 1985's A Room with a View, Day-Lewis' breakthrough role as a lead came in director Phillip Kaufman's sexually-charged drama The Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1988. Day-Lewis was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars apart from his three wins, for his work on the 1993 crime drama In the Name of the Father and for Gangs of New York.

Day-Lewis is arguably one of, if not the best actor working in film today. With other credits that include the historical drama The Last of the Mohicans and the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Nine, Day-Lewis has always taken the initiative to transform himself into every character he's played. Simply put, he's given fans the best they could ever have asked for. For film lovers,watching a Day-Lewis wasn't just about watching a movie, but witnessing an event – and thankfully, fans will be treated to his undeniable charisma on the big screen one more time.

The celebrated actor's last film, Anderson's fashion industry drama Phantom Thread, is set for theatrical release this year. Variety says that a source close to the actor confirms that Day-Lewis plans on helping promote the film.

NEXT: P.T. Anderson's Fashion Drama Gets a Release Date

Source: Variety