Daniel Day-Lewis Surfaces After Years in Retirement, Lookin' Super Chill

Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't do anything half-assed, and that includes dropping outta Hollywood ... because the highly acclaimed actor couldn't look more relaxed than he does on the streets of NYC.

In an extremely rare sighting, the reclusive actor was out Friday with his wife Rebecca Miller ... holding hands as they strolled around Manhattan's West Village.

DDL is the picture of chill in a ball cap and sweats, 6 years into his retirement from making movies.

He was also rocking a tracksuit Thursday while out and about in the Big Apple, and he's obviously decided to grow out his locks while away from the limelight. Truth is, Daniel bears a striking resemblance these days to his character from "The Last of the Mohicans."

Pretty sure that's a flip phone in his hand, too -- a fitting retro look for a guy who's rarely been photographed in public since 2017, when he starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread."

The 3-time Oscar winner announced his step back from acting months before the film's release, thanking his fans and collaborators over the years.

If he weren't retired, we'd say this new chill look is a prime case of his legendary method acting -- Daniel famously became his characters while preparing for roles, even off-camera.