Sir Daniel Day-Lewis fans have been delighted by the first look at the acting titan’s comeback after an eight-year ‘retirement’ from the industry.
The three-time best actor Oscar-winner – the only performer to achieve such a feat – has returned to make his first movie in nearly a decade after collaborating with his son Ronan Day-Lewis on the project.
Anemone was co-written by the father-son duo and will be 27-year-old Ronan’s directorial debut, with giddy fans predicting Day-Lewis, 68, will ‘emotionally wreck’ them with his most powerful and personal performance to date.
It’s set to have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, which runs from September 26 to October 13, and in conjunction with the announcement an official still from Anemone has been released.
It shows Day-Lewis, rocking short grey hair and a statement moustache, gazing upwards, with co-star Sean Bean in the background.
The official description of Anemone on the festival’s website describes it as ‘an absorbing family drama’ and ‘an emotional powerhouse’.
Set in Northern England, the film follows a middle-aged man (Bean) who leaves his suburban home for ‘a journey into the woods, where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother (Day-Lewis). Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship – one that was forever altered by shattering events decades earlier’.
Anemone also co-stars Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green.
‘Daniel Day-Lewis is going to be in another film. The world is healing,’ announced @penguinhowler on X, while @barbarismcrit added: ‘I’m a simple man. I will watch anything with Daniel Day-Lewis in it.’
‘So DDL came out of retirement just to emotionally wreck us, cool cool,’ quipped @Giii_014 of what they expected from Anemone and the star’s performance, as Sagar Mishra tweeted: ‘Daniel Day-Lewis returning under his son’s direction – could Anemone be his most personal performance yet?’
‘The other actors knowing they are gunning for 2nd place for best actor Oscar,’ predicted another fan, following the Irish performer’s wins for My Left Foot in 1990, There Will Be Blood in 2008 and Lincoln in 2013.
He was also nominated in 2018 for his last performance as dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, while there were two further nominations over the years for In the Name of the Father and Gangs of New York.
‘Using your nepotism to bring Daniel Day-Lewis out of retirement is the correct and right thing to do,’ quipped Jay of him being directed by his own son, while Niklander added: ‘Nepotism is bad unless your dad is Daniel Day-Lewis.’
‘I can’t even be mad, like yeah if Daniel Day-Lewis was my dad I’d 100% use my nepotism to get him to star in my film. Instant win,’ joked someone else.
His shock retirement from the screen was announced out of the blue via a message from his then-publicist Leslee Dart in 2017.
‘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,’ the statement read. ‘This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.’
Since then, the star has rarely been spotted out and about.
However, he did make an exception for his old friend and collaborator Martin Scorsese, appearing at an awards event in support of the filmmaker’s movie Killers of the Flower Moon in January 2024.
The actor, who starred in Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York (2002) and The Age Of Innocence (1993), called working with the director ‘one of the greatest joys and unexpected privileges of my life’.
Scorsese joked that he was hoping to coax him out of retirement for one final film together, but he’s been beaten to it by the star’s son.
He shares Ronan and younger son Cashel, 23, with filmmaker and author wife Rebecca Miller, who is the daughter of famous American playwright Arthur Miller.
He is also father to actor Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, 30, with award-winning French actress Isabelle Adjani.
Anemone is set for a limited US release on October 3, 2025, with a UK release yet to be announced.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
