The time that Daniel Day Lewis quit as a successful actor to become a less successful actor.

In 1997 Daniel Day Lewis was riding high, he’d just finished Jim Sheridan’s The Boxer, he’d won an Oscar and been nominated for another. The movie world was his for the taking.

And then he disappeared.

In one of the strangest stories of modern movie history, one of the greatest actors of all time seemingly retired from acting and disappeared from public life, but then after a few months came the sightings.

A guy who looked like Daniel Day Lewis was playing the Apothecary in an amateur dramatic version of Romeo and Juliet in Gateshead. A man with an Irish accent and great hair was auditioning for a role of third FBI agent in the X-Files.

“I was reading for Frasier’s nanny’s best friend’s mother,” said actress Geena Welles

“As I was waiting, I heard a lovely Irish accent saying that ‘I can do it better, just give me another try,’ and then another voice say ‘sorry kid, you’re just not cut out for this.’

“The actor then walked round the corner and straight past me, and it was Daniel Day Lewis. As I’m standing here now, I saw Daniel Day Lewis get fired from an episode of Frasier.”

Although he has never spoken of it, it is widely thought that in 1997 Daniel Day Lewis quit his successful acting career to try a completely different career; that of an unsuccessful actor

“I think, that Dan just needed a break from it all,” said a close associate.

“He wanted to try something different, so he decided to spend time being an idealistic, hopeful, but ultimately not quite talented enough actor just trying to get enough work to live hand to mouth.”

At first, people assumed that the Last Of The Mohicans star was just researching a role for a new film, but as the years went on he could be found doing extras work on Friends or auditioning for daytime soap opera or appearing in corporate health and safety educational films. It became apparent that he simply enjoyed this new life.

Ultimately, he returned to his career as a successful actor after auditioning for a role as a gang member who gets his ear chewed off in the opening battle of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York.

“I got pretty lucky there,” said the legendary director.

“I was blocking the battle, I noticed Dan and went and talked to him about taking the lead. He was reluctant at first but I told him he could grow a big moustache and he was sold.”

“You don’t get a lot of chance to grow cool facial hair doing haemorrhoid cream commercials.”

“It was a tough break for Rob Schneider, but I don’t think that was working out anyway.”

Daniel Day Lewis recently announced his retirement from acting but who knows? Keep an eye out for who plays the messenger in your local production of As You Like It, because you never know.