Daniel Day-Lewis is coming out of retirement to star in his son Ronan Day-Lewis’ feature directorial debut, Anemone, a family story that will also star Lord of the Rings actor Sean Bean. The announcement came Tuesday from Focus Features, which is partnering on the film with Brad Pitt’s Plan B.
Anemone, co-written by Ronan and Daniel Day-Lewis, will also Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green. It is the first film for Daniel Day-Lewis, a three-time Oscar winner, since he retired from acting after 2017’s Phantom Thread.
The film explores the relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, as well as the dynamics of familial bonds.
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Ronan Day-Lewis is an accomplished painter and filmmaker whose work has shown widely in the United States and whose debut international solo exhibition opens this week in Hong Kong, with additional upcoming shows in New York City and Los Angeles.
“We could not be more excited to partner with a brilliant visual artist in Ronan Day-Lewis on his first feature film alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as his creative collaborator,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski in a statement. “They have written a truly exceptional script, and we look forward to bringing their shared vision to audiences alongside the team at Plan B.”
The news came late Tuesday after the British tabloid Daily Mail ran paparazzi photos of a Day-Lewis, 67, with Bean, spoiling the news of Day-Lewis’ return to acting. The photos showed both actors riding on a motorcycle, in helmets, with Day-Lewis in the front and Bean in the back. Day-Lewis had a gray mustache.
Ben Fordesman (Love Lies Bleeding) is the director of photography for Anemone, Jane Petrie (The Crown) is the costume designer, and Chris Oddy (Zone of Interest) is the production designer.
Universal Pictures International will distribute Anemone internationally on behalf of Focus.
Daniel Day-Lewis’ Seven-Year Retirement
Soon after Phantom Thread, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, a rep for Day-Lewis announced that the acclaimed performer would “no longer be working as an actor.” She added that he was “immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years.”
Day-Lewis later told W magazine that he felt “great sadness” at stepping away but felt it was necessary.
“‘The impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do,” he told the magazine. “Do I feel better? Not yet. I have great sadness. And that’s the right way to feel.”
He added: “When I began, it was a question of salvation. Now, I want to explore the world in a different way.”
For years after his retirement from acting, Day-Lewis maintained such a low profile that he set off massive press attention just by being photographed walking around New York City in spring of 2023. In June of the same year, he received renewed press attention when he was seen exiting a building with crutches.
Day-Lewis won his Oscars for 1989’s My Left Foot, directed by Jim Sheridan, 2007’s There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and 2012’s Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg.
His other notable roles include 1992’s sweeping Last of the Mohicans, directed by Michael Mann; 1993’s In the Name of the Father, again directed by Sheridan; and 1993’s The Age of Innocence and 2002’s Gangs of New York, both of which were directed by Martin Scorsese.
He is also the recipient of four BAFTA Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Day-Lewis received a British knighthood for his work.
Main image: Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread. Courtesy of Focus Features.
Editor’s Note: Corrects typo in headline.