History ReclusiveArtist / Actors

* Creator/GeneHackman had a huge acting for more than six decades which earned him several awards including two Oscars. In 2004, he retired from acting and became a novelist instead, staying away from the Hollywood limelight that he once had been. Afterwards, he has rarely given interviews and is rarely seen in public. The only things people heard about him are that he enjoys cycling. It was only in March 2024 that he and his second wife, Betsy Arakawa, were seen in a public outing for the first time in 21 years.

* Creator/TomHiddleston used to have a very good relationship with his fans, often taking pictures with them in-person and posting his Twitter account. However, he stopped interacting with his fans and left social media to protect his privacy after many transgressions including: cyberstalking; tricking him into meeting with them by posing as someone he worked with; and harassing any woman that has been photographed with him. His Twitter is now updated perhaps once every other month (if that) with very generic things, and it's been a while since anybody's managed to get a picture with him.
* Creator/JodieComer used to be quite active on social media and would interact with her fans. Come 2020, when she was rumored to be dating a UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump supporter, she was the target of much harassment, to the point of her leaving Twitter and only using her Instagram to post about her projects.

* Creator/MichaelCera is another similar example. He owns no social media and never talks about his personal life. When it was revealed that he had fathered a child in 2022, the details of its mother and age were not even known.

* Creator/JohnCReilly is another downplayed example; he's a relatively outgoing guy who grants interviews and makes public appearances (usually related to an upcoming project), but doesn't use social media (he did give a Reddit AMA in 2014). Furthermore, after no less than ''four'' movies featuring him premiered in the last few months of 2018 (''Film/TheSistersBrothers'', ''Film/StanAndOllie'', ''Film/HolmesAndWatson'' and ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet''), he appeared to have scaled back in the next few years, with his only major projects between then and the early part of 2022 being a handful of TV shows, a short film by Creator/LucaGuadagnino called ''O Night Divine'', the Creator/BobOdenkirk-created audio drama ''Summer in Argyle'', and a brief cameo in ''Film/LicoricePizza''.

* Creator/LucilleBall tragically became this after the failure of her 1986 sitcom ''Life With Lucy''. Ball was reportedly extremely devastated by the show's quick cancellation. She never again attempted a television or film production and her subsequent television appearances and interviews were infrequent. She died three years after ''Life With Lucy'' premiered and one month after appearing at the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s.

* Character actor Creator/ChristopherLloyd, while known for playing various over-the-top characters, most famously Doc Brown from ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and Reverend Jim Ignatowski in ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', is noted by fellow actors for being very shy and private in real life, rarely doing interviews. Around the 2010s, however, he made appearances at comic book conventions.

* Creator/JoeAlwyn is notably private about his private life, frequently declining to comment on interview questions about his relationship with Music/TaylorSwift. This was something Taylor noted that helped her lifestyle and mental health during her 2017 "Snakegate" time. However, this trope is severely Deconstructed because their break up is stated to be because he was struggling to adapt with Taylor's explosive fame from 2022 to 2023.

* Creator/JetLi isn't extraordinarily keen on maintaining his high profile as one of the greatest martial artist/actors in the world, putting a lot of his attention towards philanthropic efforts or simply living a quiet life (by Li's own admission, a lot of this was motivated by a NearDeathExperience where he and his daughters were caught up in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, which led him to reevaluate his relationship with fame). He briefly went viral in 2018 when new photos showing his age having drastically caught up to him became public (prior to that point, he was known for [[OlderThanTheyLook being able to pass as being in his early 30's rather than his mid-50's]]), something he had to address by pointing out 1) he'd been dealing with a battle with hyperthyroidism in the early 2010's, and 2) it was ''not'' the reason he'd taken less movie roles since then; he was simply pickier as he'd put more of his focus on charity work.

** Stephen Salmon, who played Kenny, has given ''no'' interviews (not even on the ''Beyond Tomorrow'' documentary) and made ''no'' appearances since he left the show. The fandom often questions whether he's even still ''alive''.

* Creator/SetsukoHara, star of Japanese cinema for some 25 years, best known for her roles in Creator/YasujiroOzu's films ''Film/LateSpring'', ''Film/EarlySummer'' and ''Film/TokyoStory''. She quit acting the year of Ozu's death, and lived the entirety of her life in seclusion thereafter, refusing all interviews and photographs; even her death was only publicly reported two months later. Her total seclusion in retirement was an inspiration for the anime film ''Anime/MillenniumActress''.

* For a long time, Creator/RowanAtkinson would only agree to be interviewed in character, though he relented beginning in the 2000s.

* Creator/GeneWilder granted very few interviews in his lifetime due to suffering from shyness and the fear that he would have to be "on" all the time. In fact, in one interview, he asked that there be no live audience for the show because he was suffering stage fright. Prior to his death in 2016, he stuck to a few appearances every once in a while and his writing. Later in his life, it was also done to hide his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

* Comedian and actor Creator/TonySlattery is best known for being the BreakoutCharacter of the British version of ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' Unfortunately by the mid-'90s, his professional and personal life took a toll due to having undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which he admitted to self-medicating with substance abuse and this culminated in him becoming this trope. Thankfully within the past several years, he has been getting help, has a lot of support from fans and his close friends (including his fellow ''Whose Line'' costar and frequent collaborator Mike [=McShane=]) and is working on his autobiography.

* Brandon [=DiCamillo=] was a permanent mainstay in the original CKY videos, and as apart of the original cast of ''Series/JackAss'' and ''Series/VivaLaBam''. However, after the release of “Minghags: The Movie”, he has never returned to any CKY/Jackass projects, even to the point where most of the CKY crew no longer keeps in contact with him. It has been said that the reason why was because of his disillusionment with how more and more corporate he felt the projects became, as well as deciding to settle down and raise his family. Even before that, he was usually the hardest cast member to participate in a lot of trips, as he mentioned he never cared much to leave Westchester, Pennsylvania most of the time, and would rather spend time at home playing video games.

* Stephen Collins of ''Series/SeventhHeaven'' and ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' fame has understandably dissapeared from public and professional life after his career was effectively ended in 2014 upon the revelation of his serial sexual misconduct with minors dating back as early as 1973.

* Creator/JoeAlwyn is notably private about his private life, frequently decline to comment on interview question about his relationship with Music/TaylorSwift. This was something Taylor noted that helped her lifestyle and mental health during her 2017 "Snakegate" time. However, this trope is severely Deconstructed because their break up is stated to be because he was struggling to adapt with Taylor's explosive fame from 2022 to 2023.

* Creator/BillMurray not only stays out of social media but also has no agent or publicist. Instead, any and all scripts or role offers have to come through an unlisted 1-800 number passed around through word of mouth that leads to a voicemail box that Murray admits checks very infrequently.

* Although bold enough to do interviews and PR for his movies, Creator/HarrisonFord is fairly private on his family and works to keep his kids' business out of the spotlight.

* Creator/TobeyMaguire became more reclusive after the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' ended, with him rarely granting public interviews and not using any social media (he has a [[https://mobile.twitter.com/tobeymaguire?lang=en Twitter account, but his last tweet is from 2013]], promoting ''Film/TheGreatGatsby2013''). He's been known to ignore fans who approach him and has spent most of his time producing movies and playing professional poker (rumor has it that he was the basis for Player X in ''Film/MollysGame''), although he did have a small voice role in 2017's ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby''. When it was rumored that he would be reprising his role as Spider-Man in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', fans were doubtful that he'd come back, as he hadn't acted since 2014, although he did return to much joy. Furthermore, he made his return to onscreen acting in a small part for the film ''Film/{{Babylon|2022}}''. Fans have also posted videos and photos on social media, showing that he often does interact and pose with them for pictures, when he does encounter them. He even did a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/ztqlgb/hi_im_tobey_maguire_actorexecutive_producer_of/ reddit AMA as of recently]] and attended some screenings for ''Babylon''.

* Character actor Creator/ChristopherLloyd, while known for playing various over-the-top characters, most famously Doc Brown from ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and Reverend Jim Ignatowski in ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', is noted by fellow actors for being very shy and private in real life, rarely doing interviews. Around the 2010s, however, he has made appearances at comic book conventions.

* Creator/GeneWilder granted very few interviews due to suffering from shyness and the fear that he would have to be "on" all the time. In fact, in one interview, he asked that there be no live audience for the show because he was suffering stage fright. Prior to his death in 2016, he stuck to a few appearances every once in a while and his writing. Later in his life, it was also done to hide his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

* Creator/TobeyMaguire became more reclusive after the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' ended, with him rarely granting public interviews and not using any social media (he has a [[https://mobile.twitter.com/tobeymaguire?lang=en Twitter account, but his last tweet is from 2013]], promoting ''Film/TheGreatGatsby2013''). He's been known to ignore fans who approach him and has spent most of his time producing movies and playing professional poker (rumor has it that he was the basis for Player X in ''Film/MollysGame''), although he did have a small voice role in 2017's ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby''. When it was rumored that he would be reprising his role as Spider-Man in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', fans were doubtful that he'd come back, as he hadn't acted since 2014, although he did return to much joy. Furthermore, he made his return to onscreen acting in a small part for the film ''Film/{{Babylon|2022}}''. Fans have also posted videos and photos on social media, showing that he often does interact and pose with them for pictures, when he does encounter them. He even did a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/ztqlgb/hi_im_tobey_maguire_actorexecutive_producer_of/ reddit AMA as of recently]].

* Creator/TobeyMaguire became more reclusive after the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' ended, with him rarely granting public interviews and not using any social media (he has a [[https://mobile.twitter.com/tobeymaguire?lang=en Twitter account, but his last tweet is from 2013]], promoting ''Film/TheGreatGatsby2013''). He's been known to ignore fans who approach him and has spent most of his time producing movies and playing professional poker (rumor has it that he was the basis for Player X in ''Film/MollysGame''), although he did have a small voice role in 2017's ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby''. When it was rumored that he would be reprising his role as Spider-Man in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', fans were doubtful that he'd come back, as he hadn't acted since 2014, although he did return to much joy. Furthermore, it has been announced that he will make his return to onscreen acting in the upcoming film ''Film/{{Babylon|2022}}''. Fans have also posted videos and photos on social media, showing that he often does interact and pose with them for pictures, when he does encounter them.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Animation Directors]]
* Next to nothing is known about animator Naoyuki Yoshinaga (director of the ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' TV series and co-director of ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'', among various other things), although an interview with fellow ''Patlabor'' director Creator/MamoruOshii implies he died.
* Russell Hall is best known for being the lead animator for Jessica Rabbit in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', he has had only two known interviews for his work on the film, he'd been animating since the 1970s and his last known credit was for ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''. There were unsuccessful attempts to contact him for a comic con appearance for the 25th anniversary of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', even his most frequent employer Creator/RichardWilliams didn't know his whereabouts.
* Creator/SatoshiKon became one in his final months due to his shame at his body being ravaged by pancreatic cancer. Luckily, he was still able to write a highly moving farewell message in his last few days.
* Animator Brenda Banks, one of the earliest known female African American animators, was known for her work on most of Creator/RalphBakshi's films, Creator/HannaBarbera, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', after the final season of ''King of the Hill'' she seems to have vanished and no one who worked with her seems to know her current whereabouts. She reportedly passed away in 2020.
* Pat Ventura who is well known for his pilots he pitched to ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'' and ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' has since disappeared from the industry in 2007 and currently runs an [[http://patcartoons.blogspot.com/ art blog]] as of now.
* Creator/ChrisSavino was fairly active on social media and was known for his resume which included work for studios like [[Creator/WaltDisneyAnimationUnits Disney]], Creator/{{Cartoon Network}}, and [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Spümcø]] before he was terminated from his [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse own show]] in 2017 for sexual harassment. He deleted his social media accounts and vanished from the public eye afterwards, but [[https://www.chrissavinoauthor.com/ resurfaced]] two years later with new stories, pilot ideas, published books, and a comic strip. Time will if he ever gets another chance in the animation industry.
** In relation to this scandal, his ex-wife Bethany privatized her Instagram page sometime after their divorce in order to protect her and their kids' personal lives from [[FanDumb certain fans]] of the show.
* [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor Following his career-destroying scandal in March 2018]] (involving acts such as statutory rape and child pornography possession), the once-revered Creator/JohnKricfalusi [[PedoHunt has largely gone into hiding]] by mostly-abandoning his art blog and social media accounts (except for Facebook and Instagram); his only work to emerge since then was for a short called ''WesternAnimation/CansWithoutLabels'', and studios like Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/{{Adult Swim}} permanently cutting off ties with him seems to have cemented that he won't be seen for a very long time.
* As with the above two, Skyler Page has all but disappeared after getting fired from ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'' for sexual harassment, before [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeJTb7ZX-p8 resurfacing in 2019 with a video]].
* Creator/PendletonWard has admitted that he's a very shy and private person. His public appearances and online presence dwindled a great deal after he stepped down from producing ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''.
* Juliano Enrico was well-known in Brazil since the early 2010s, being a MTV presenter and host and writer of talk-show programs such as ''Choque de Cultura'' and ''O Último Programa do Mundo''. A few years later, his most well-known work, the cartoon ''WesternAnimation/JorelsBrother'' became a big hit, with Juliano participating in several interviews, ads, and Cartoon Network videos about the show. However, in April 2019, he got involved in a huge controversy due to his ex-girlfriend publicly speaking about how her previous boyfriend used to abuse her physically, sexually and verbally, leading most people to believe and later, discover that it was indeed Juliano. Since then, he's become inactive in any social medias and disappeared from all public appearances, sometimes being said to be reclusive just to "focus on his show". While he participated in the fourth season of ''Jorel's Brother'' premiering in 2021 (though this may be due to AnimationLeadTime), he seems to have been mostly phased out from the team now.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Artists]]
* Creator/VincentVanGogh. He had NoSocialSkills, and who could really blame him? Every time he went outside he was called "the redheaded madman".
* Al Columbia, an independent comic artist who did macabre work such as "Doghead", "The Biologic Show", and "Pim & Francie," along with the album artwork for the Postal Service's sole album ''Give Up''. He is criticized by fans of the medium for occasionally displaying talent and having repeated long periods of inactivity in between. He worked with/fell out with the semi-reclusive Creator/AlanMoore during the never-completed ''Big Numbers'' project.
* Creator/{{Banksy}}, director of ''Film/ExitThroughTheGiftShop'' and notorious graffiti artist, makes no public appearances and has never had his identity revealed. This is certainly due to the fact that his artworks, while hugely popular and sought after, are mostly installed without permission and considered by law to be acts of criminal vandalism, for which he could be publicly prosecuted. On the other end of the spectrum, Banksy is also hated by many other graffiti artists, supposedly for plagiarizing their techniques and messages.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Trampier Dave Trampier]], artist for much early ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' material and creator of the comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Wormy}}'', disappeared sometime around 1988. He was apparently a taxi driver in Illinois. He passed away in March 2014, ironically two weeks before he was supposed to disperse some of the rumors of his isolation - a similar fate to what happened with Stanley Kubrick.
* Creator/EdvardMunch. He was mentally unstable to begin with. Thus, he became more and more reclusive as time passed, and when he got himself a rather big mansion, he rarely left it. He died almost isolated in 1944.
** Theodor Kittelsen, another artist, had moved into the vicinity of Munch around 1910. Kittelsen, suffering from severe depression, rarely went outside at this point of his life, and his wife had to take all the errands for him. Inga Kittelsen then encountered Munch on a train, and Munch seemed to be interested in the fact that Kittelsen lived nearby - they were, in fact separated by an open field. "It is good to know Kittelsen lives nearby", Munch stated. "But he must never come and visit me". Kittelsen, when told this, agreed and said almost the same thing.
* Pop artist Lisa Frank (who drew the art featured on those notebooks with the rainbow-colored puppies, kittens, and unicorns) is very reclusive. She has done interviews with her face obscured and one of the few confirmed images of her online ''is her as a child''.
* Karine Charlebois was once a busy woman, doing work on TV shows and drawing for the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' comic, but around the mid-2010s she began to vanish from the furry fandom. She still does TV work (recently she did storyboarding for ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''), but most of her online profiles (with the exception of Instagram) have been updated since at least 2013.
* Stephen Gammell, best known for providing the [[NightmareFuel infamously macabre]] illustrations for ''Literature/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark'', has greatly shied away from interviews since the book series ended. His last known illustrator credit was in 2011 and has since then dropped off the radar, to the point where he had no direct involvement in 2019's ''Scary Stories'' [[Film/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark2019 film adaptation]], and it is unknown what he thought of it.
* It's not uncommon for many internet residing artists, especially those on sites such as Website/DeviantArt, to be active frequently on their respective profiles but prefer to be private about their personal lives. This largely stems from trolls who try to use that personal info against them (e.g., doxxing, blackmail, smear campaigns, etc.).
* [[https://twitter.com/click_burgundy Hungry Clicker]] is a famous Twitter artist known for their beautiful fanart of various video game and manga characters. Despite their fame on Twitter and having an official artbook published, virtually nothing is known about Hungry Clicker other than the fact they are from Japan.
* ZONE-SAMA, a popular artist/animator known for making NSFW animations of cartoons/video games (whose art styles and animation are often stunningly accurate to the source material being parodied) since 2001, and has even had a hand in animating for video games like ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''. Despite this popularity, virtually nothing is known about them, up to and including their exact age, location, and gender. [[note]]They are often assumed to be female due to their female mascot, Zone-Tan, but this has neither been confirmed nor denied.[[/note]] Interestingly, unlike most artists of this status, ZONE is highly active on social media, often giving updates on their projects and freely interacting with friends and fans.
* [[PenName "CONSTANZA"]] is a pen name given to a Spanish artist from the early 20th century, best known for making idealistic paintings, greeting cards, and [[https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/postales-religiosas-recordatorios/tc/2014/01/14/14/40986952.webp illustrations]] showing the [[https://imgur.com/a/cZw0R2o positive sides of humanity and religion]] (notably [[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Catholicism and/or Christianity]]). While Constanza's works were popular in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries between the 1950s and 1960s, unlike Juan Ferrándiz who has plenty of information known about him and made a few children's books during the late [[TheSixties '60s]] and early [[TheSeventies '70s]], Constanza's real name and gender have remained unknown in Spain due to the artist being a very private person.