Daniel Day Lewis Makes Surprise Appearance at the National Board of Review Awards to Honor Martin Scorsese

"One of the greatest joys and most unexpected privileges of my life was to find myself one day working with him," Day-Lewis said of the award-winning director

Daniel Day-Lewis made a rare public appearance on Thursday, to honor longtime collaborator Martin Scorsese.

The retired actor, 66, appeared at the National Board of Review Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City to present the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker with the award for best director.

While giving the honor, Day-Lewis praised Scorsese for his vision and effort to create "enthralling" films, saying, “Martin's work — with the light of his own making — he illuminated unknown worlds that pulsed with the dangerous, irresistible energy, worlds that were mysterious to me and utterly enthralling."

"He illuminated the vast beautiful landscape of what is possible in film, and he clarified for me what it is that one must ask of oneself, to work in faith," Day-Lewis continued.

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Day-Lewis — who starred in Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993) and Gangs of New York (2002) — also shared a glimpse at his close relationship with the esteemed director, noting that "one of the greatest joys and most unexpected privileges of my life was to find myself one day working with him."

"I'm grateful to the National Board of Review for so justly recognizing the supreme, inimitable artistry of this mighty man. To every person that works in the crucible of the imagination, he's a living treasure. As a man and as a filmmaker, I love and revere him. For his devastating telling of the story of the Killers of the Flower Moon, best director award goes to Martin Scorsese," he concluded his speech.

After Day-Lewis handed Scorsese the award, the pair took photos together on the red carpet. The Wolf of Wall Street director smiled widely while holding his award in his right hand as Day-Lewis stood beside him in the photos with a hand on his shoulder.

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Day-Lewis has been retired from acting since 2017. Though he rarely steps out in public, he was seen out and about in NYC twice in the spring of 2023. In June, the three-time Academy Award winner was seen using a pair of crutches as he exited a building.

A rep for Day-Lewis did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment regarding his condition at that time.

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Day-Lewis is notably the first actor to win three Oscars in the Best Actor category. Those awards came for his performances in 2012's Lincoln, 2007's There Will Be Blood and 1989's My Left Foot.

The retired actor's last movie was 2017's Phantom Thread, which released several months after his representative Leslee Dart shared news of his retirement with PEOPLE. Day-Lewis had previously taken time away from his career to work as a cobbler in Italy for a period of time in the late 1990s, according to The New York Times.

“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," Dart said at the time. "This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject."

The National Board of Review Awards Gala on Thursday also recognized Killers of the Flower Moon as its best film of 2023 and Lily Gladstone received its best actress honor.

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