As new faces take over our television screens, the actors that we have become so familiar with seem to be stepping away from the limelight one by one.
Recently, rumor had it that Cameron Diaz was planning to walk away from the silver screen after fellow actress and her close friend Selma Blair brought it up in an interview. The bombshell was dropped after Blair was asked if she and Diaz would be willing to star in a sequel for their raunchy 2002 comedy, The Sweetest Thing.
"I would have liked to do a sequel, but Cameron's retired from acting," Blair said. "She's like, "˜I'm done.'"
She continued, "I mean, she doesn't need to make any more films. She has a pretty great life; I don't know what it would take to bring her back."
The news of Diaz's unconfirmed retirement sent fans into a panic, forcing Blair to backtrack.
"Guys please, I was making a joke in an interview," she tweeted. "CAMERON DIAZ is NOT retiring from ANYTHING. And for more breaking news: I am NOW retiring from being Cameron Diaz's spokesperson."
The actress's tweet was followed with a collective sigh of relief, but now another Hollywood veteran has revealed that they may be saying goodbye soon.
Academy Award winner Sean Penn recently sat down for a chat with CBS Sunday Morning and got very candid about how he truly feels about the craft that catapulted him to fame.
Penn, who has starred in dozens of roles since his debut in the 70s, first fell in love with acting as a young kid in Los Angeles.
He drew inspiration from his father, actor and director Leo Penn, and would make short films at home with the help of his childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.
His first stint was on a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie, in which he appeared as an extra while his father directed.
Starring in early 80s films like Taps, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Bad Boys helped Penn jump-start his career and turned him into a household name. In addition to acting, he also assumed directorial roles in a number of projects, and over the years, his talent earned him multiple awards, including two Oscars.
Now, more than 40 years since the controversial actor made his Hollywood debut, he may be bowing out, and he has good reason for it.
Penn admitted to CBS Sunday Morning's Tracey Smith that he no longer gets the thrill from acting, and has fallen out of love with his craft.
"You know, I think that this has been true for some time," he said.
"It can be great when you're working with good actors or good directors or good writing as an exercise, but do I have a belief that it has a lasting value?" he continued. "Maybe, I could make the argument intellectually. But I don't have a visceral "“ I'm not in love with that anymore."
This does not mean that the 57-year-old is retiring from the entertainment industry. Instead of acting, he has found something else he is more passionate about these days: writing.
Penn's first novel, "Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff," will hit the shelves later this month, but it's already stirring a ton of controversy.
The satirical book about a septic salesman-turned-assassin, reportedly contains a threatening letter to the fictional president (who is actually based on President Donald Trump) and covers Penn's disgust with the "toddlers' crusade" of the #MeToo movement, is not going to suit everyone's tastes, but the actor isn't fazed by any of it.
"You know, some people are going to get this book and some people are not going to get this book," he said during the interview which will air this Sunday. "Some people, I think, will really enjoy it, others will loathe it. And "” and that really is what I'd like to say about me, you know?"
Penn has not starred in any big or small screen projects at all in 2017, however, he does have a role in an upcoming film titled The Professor and the Madman. He is also a series regular in the television show The First, and is set to appear in an upcoming miniseries called American Lion.
Perhaps he's planning to officially retire once all of the projects he already signed on for are completed.
Penn isn't the only high caliber actor who has recently chosen to leave Hollywood to pursue another passion.
In 2017, Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis shocked the world when he decided to leave Hollywood for good.
"Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor," read the statement released by the actor's spokeswoman, Leslee Dart. "This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment."
Although he never revealed what motivated his decision to retire, it wasn't the first time that Day-Lewis walked away from all the "glitz and glamour" of Hollywood.
The first time it happened was shortly after his 1997 Oscar nomination. He took a sabbatical so he could move to Italy and pursue his interest in shoe-making.
The 60-year-old returned to the scene in 2003, but would only appear in films every couple of years until his sudden departure last June.
Prior to Day-Lewis's surprising announcement, his fellow actor Richard Gere opened up about why he will probably never appear in a mainstream flick again.
Last spring, Gere, who won our hearts over in films like An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman and Chicago, explained to The Hollywood Reporter that although he has not retired from acting, he believes that he isn't given opportunities to topline feature films because of his friendship with the Dalai Lama.
The 68-year-old actor hasn't landed a leading role in a mainstream film since 2008, when he appeared as Dr. Paul Flanner in Nights in Rodanthe, based on a novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.
His stance on the "horrendous human rights situation" China has inflicted on Tibet has made him an enemy of the East Asian nation.
Since China finances a big part of Hollywood, casting agents and producers of big budget movies aren't left with many options but to drop Gere.
"I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese," the actor said.
While we may never get a chance to see him in a box-office hit again, Gere isn't too worried about it because he still has his earnings from his previous works, and he is starring in independent films.
"I'm not interested in playing the wizened Jedi in your tentpole," he said. "I was successful enough in the last three decades that I can afford to do these [smaller films] now."
I can't help but wonder if there are other reason actors like Diaz, Penn and Day-Lewis are leaving Hollywood. Considering how long they have been in the industry, it can't just be that they no longer "love" their jobs, right?
Anyway, will you miss seeing these actors on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!
