Is celebrated method actor Daniel Day-Lewis coming out of retirement?

In 2017, three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting after the release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread.  

Having won the Academy Award for Best Actor for My Left Foot (1990), There Will Be Blood (2008) and Lincoln (2013), the British thespian became the only performer to ever win three leading actor Oscars. He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of his generation. 

The method actor, who often spends years preparing for a role, also starred in such films as My Beautiful Laundrette, The Last of the Mohicans, In The Name of the Father, The Crucible and Gangs of New York. 

Now, seven years since his retreat from the cameras, the celebrated actor has been spotted on the set of a film called Anemone – although some publications and online sources are referring to the film as Avelyne. It is the directorial debut from his 26-year-old son Ronan Day-Lewis, who is a painter and whose debut international solo exhibition opens today in Hong Kong.  

Father and son wrote the screenplay together, and the film reportedly explores the knotty dynamics of familial bonds. Anemone also stars Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green. 

Spotted in Manchester sporting a superb handlebar moustache and riding a motorcycle, this could be Day-Lewis’ big return to the screen – even if the role is a cameo performance.  

“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,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski said 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.” 

Day-Lewis has retired twice in his career.  

The 67-year-old actor originally decided to step away from acting following The Boxer (1997), leaving the craft and becoming a cobbler. He moved to Italy to pursue shoemaking and had an apprenticeship with famous shoemaker Stefano Bemer. 

He only came back to the big screen five years later when Martin Scorsese convinced him to return for Gangs of New York. 

Speaking of which, it was just last year that Scorsese hinted at collaborating with Day-Lewis for one more film. Speaking at the National Board of Review awards ceremony, the filmmaker said: “We did two films together and it’s one of the greatest experiences of my life… Maybe there’s time for one more. Maybe!” 

Fingers crossed.

There is no release date as of yet for Anemone.

Additional sources • Deadline, The Mail