A succession of actors have recently threatened retirement or actually done it – we unravel the myths and motivations…
Imagine, if you will, the following scenario: your job enables you to travel all over the world, your pay packet is in multiple digits, and your face is recognised globally for your work. The perfect situation it would seem… Or is it?
Earlier this year Viggo Mortensen gave an interview declaring that he was finished with the movie-making business, and in the process set the internet abuzz about whether or not he had quit acting for good. In the past, actors like Greta Garbo and Gene Wilder have retired from acting after long and successful careers. However, for an actor at the top of his game like Viggo to declare his intention to stop producing movies, is harder to believe because it threatens to deprive the profession of an actor in his prime. Furthermore, in these recessionary times, it’s hard for us regular citizens to understand the motives behind giving up what seems to be a dream job. We take a look at actors who have declared their intention to throw in the towel and what happened next…
Hard to believe?
Joaquin puts what's on his mind onto his knucklesJoaquin Phoenix unexpectedly announced last year that he was quitting acting for a new career – in rapping. Phoenix was of course nominated for an Oscar for Walk the Line and has appeared in a host of highly successful movies including Two Lovers, Gladiator and Signs. Yet despite the fact that he hasn’t worked as an actor since his announcement, it’s still difficult to believe. The most popular theory is that he is doing it as an (extraordinarily elaborate) prank for his as yet unnamed 2010 documentary directed by Casey (brother of Ben) Affleck which is supposedly about his transition from actor to rapper. IMBD lists the documentary, scheduled for release in 2010, as being in post production so only then will we see whether or not it’s all an elaborate hoax. Whilst his debut performance might not blow anyone’s socks off, I for one might be forced to purchase any prospective album out of sheer curiosity.
Viggo Mortensen, in the oft-quoted interview he gave whilst publicising Eastern Promises, painted a picture of the acting profession that we don’t generally think about; ‘In the past week I’ve been from Los Angeles to Japan to Korea to Poland to the UK. It’s ridiculous and it’s not a healthy way to be. But, as it happens, I’m taking measures to change that. No more movies.’
He is best known for his role in Lord of the Rings as Aragorn but he has been working as an actor fairly consistently since the 1980s. Aside from acting, Mortensen also writes poems, paints, photographs and sings jazz. Furthermore, he owns a publishing company and holds a degree in Government and Spanish. It’s not unsurpring that a man with so many interests might want to take a break from the business of movie making (since acting is indeed such a small part of an actor’s commitment to a movie). We may be worrying for nothing, however, as Viggo attempted to silence the speculation about his career during a press conference for upcoming movie The Road, when he said “I was just honest with someone a little while back who asked me if I had a movie lined up. I said ‘no’ and they wrote ‘Oh, he’s quitting.’ I never said it,”. So we may see him again sooner than we expected.
It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later…
Of course actors taking a break are not uncommon. Daniel Day Lewis is arguably one of the most selective and talented actors of his generation. However he disappeared from the acting world following The Boxer (1997) and became an apprentice shoemaker. He didn’t appear in another movie until his Oscar-winning role in Gangs of New York in 2002. Since 2002 he has only appeared in two released movies, both of which have garnered him awards and award nominations. A true exemplar of ‘quality over quantity.’
Day-Lewis in Gangs of New YorkSean Connery, meanwhile, has yet to emerge from his self-imposed retirement. Following the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2006) he professed to call time on his acting career. Since then, he has been true to his word and has only performed as the voice of the main character in animated short Sir Billi the Vet, a role which perhaps seduced him in through its Scottish theme and setting. Indeed in 2009 he co-wrote a book called Being a Scot which deals with the subject of Scotland as well as his life.
Look at me…
As the threat to abandon acting has proved itself an excellent attention-generator, it is hard not to wonder how often it is part of a carefully crafted PR strategy. On the other hand, it also makes an excellent story, and so we may have our fellow journalists to blame for whipping up a frenzy.
However, whatever one’s profession, to quit while one’s ahead, or at least before one ‘gets behind’ and enters a professional drought where perhaps the jobs aren’t forthcoming, somewhat insures an actor against accusations of being ‘over the hill’ or undesirable. Perhaps this – more than fatigue, other creative interests, or the demands of one’s family – might be a factor worth considering in the context of the ego, pride and sensitivity that are often associated with actors…
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