Daniel Day-Lewis breaks retirement to honor Martin Scorsese, director says 'maybe' they could do 'one more'

The reclusive Daniel Day-Lewis made a rare public appearance on Thursday to present Martin Scorsese with a National Board of Review award for Best Director for his work on Killers of the Flower Moon.

While accepting the award from his former collaborator, Scorsese called working with Day-Lewis "one of the greatest experiences of my life." He then shocked the audience by suggesting, "Maybe there's time for one more."

The seemingly off-the-cuff remark elicited gasps and loud cheers from the seated attendees. Scorsese raised a finger in the air, seeming to emphasize his point, before laughing as Day-Lewis smiled and held out his hands.

Day-Lewis and Scorsese worked together on 2002's Gangs of New York and 1993's The Age of Innocence, which Day-Lewis called "one of the greatest joys and unexpected privileges of my life."

The revered actor announced his retirement from acting in 2017 after his acclaimed performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread. So far, he has been true to his word.

“I was a teenager when I discovered Martin’s work,” Day-Lewis said at the National Board of Review Awards while introducing the director, the Associated Press reported. “With a light of his own making, he illuminated unknown worlds that pulsed with a dangerous, irresistible energy — worlds that were mysterious to me and utterly enthralling. He illuminated the vast, beautiful landscape of what is possible in film, and he clarified for me what it is that one must ask of one's self to work in faith.”

If they do, in fact, work together again, it would not put Day-Lewis in the same echelon as Leonardo DiCaprio or Robert De Niro in terms of the number of times he has appeared in Scorsese films. However, if he took a role in another Scorsese movie, the director would tie with Jim Sheridan for the most number of times Day-Lewis has worked with a filmmaker. The actor has only worked with three directors on films more than once: He appeared in three Sheridan films, and two each from Scorsese and Anderson.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content

• Martin Scorsese reveals the Killers of the Flower Moon opening scene he scrapped
• Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone on the 'grand betrayal' in Killers of the Flower Moon
• Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone shares message of support for film's Native viewers