Actors' final film roles before retiring from Hollywood

By Jessica Wedemeyer 8:08am PST, Dec 21, 2017

Daniel Day-Lewis will say goodbye to Hollywood after "Phantom Thread" opens in theaters on Dec. 25, 2017. The three-time Oscar winner plans to retire from acting following his portrayal of a volatile dressmaker in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed drama. "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," his rep said in a statement to Variety in June 2017. In honor of the esteemed actor's final foray onto the big screen, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at more retired actors' last major movie roles. Keep reading to see how some of our favorite stars bid farewell to Hollywood…

Sean Connery hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2003 when he portrayed adventurer Allan Quatermain in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name. (He did, however, voice the title role in the 2013 British animated film "Sir Billi," which had an extremely limited release in the U.K.)

Gene Hackman hasn't acted since 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport," in which he portrayed President Monroe Cole, who decides to run for mayor in his hometown after serving two terms as commander in chief. (Ray Romano starred as his challenger in the comedy.)

Amanda Bynes left Hollywood to go to fashion school and focus on her mental health. She hasn't acted since 2010's "Easy A," in which she portrayed a high school mean girl who spreads rumors about Emma Stone's Olive.

Chuck Norris hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2012's "The Expendables 2," though he briefly came out of retirement to record a voice-over for a 2015 episode of "The Goldbergs." Before that, he hadn't acted in a film since 2005's "The Cutter."

Rick Moranis hasn't appeared on the big screen since 1996's "Big Bully," though he did appear in the straight-to-video "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves!" the following year. After that, he occasionally worked as a voice actor until 2006's "Brother Bear 2." He also appeared in the 2007 Canadian TV special "Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary." But it's been radio silence from the funnyman since then!

The last time Bridget Fonda worked was in 2002 when she had the title role in the made-for-TV movie "Snow Queen" and a four-episode stint on "The Chris Isaak Show." The year before, she made her final appearance in a major feature film: The "Single White Female" star portrayed the love interest of Stanley Tucci's fireworks salesman in 2001's "The Whole Shebang."

Phoebe Cates shot into the spotlight with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" in the early '80s, but she hasn't starred in a film since 2001's "The Anniversary Party," in which her real-life husband, Kevin Kline, also appeared. She's only worked once since then: as a voice actress in a 2015 video game.

Anyone who grew up during the '80s remembers Michael Schoeffling as Jake from "Sixteen Candles." Shockingly, he walked away from acting after starring opposite Gabrielle Anwar in 1991's "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken."

"Men in Black" and "Dogma" star Linda Fiorentino hasn't worked in Hollywood since 2010 when she starred in the indie film "Once More With Feeling."

Clint Eastwood put acting behind him in favor of directing gigs. The Oscar-winning director of "Million Dollar Baby" hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2012's "Trouble with the Curve," in which he portrayed an ailing baseball scout.

Ron Howard is one of the most successful directors in Hollywood, so is it any wonder he put his career as a movie actor behind him? The former child star still has a few small acting gigs: He narrates "Arrested Development," portrays a version of himself on "This Is Us" and occasionally works as a voice actor on various animated projects. But he actually hasn't had a starring role in a major feature film since 1979's "More American Graffiti."

Though he hasn't officially retired from acting, Jack Nicholson hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2010's "How Do You Know," in which he portrayed a corporate criminal and father of Paul Rudd's character. According to a February 2017 report in Variety, the Oscar-winning actor will return to the big screen in an upcoming English-language remake of the German dramedy "Toni Erdmann" to be written by Lena Dunham. He'll reportedly portray the father of Kristen Wiig's character — but we won't believe it till we see it!

Cameron Diaz is currently in the midst of a break from acting, which we can only hope is temporary. "I just went, 'I can't really say who I am to myself,' which is a hard thing to face up to. I felt the need to make myself whole," she said of her decision during a Goop Wellness Summit in June 2017. The blonde beauty hasn't appeared on the big screen since she portrayed Miss Hannigan in 2014's "Annie."