Daniel Day-Lewis makes shock return to acting seven years after announcing retirement

2 October 2024, 14:54

Sir Daniel Day-Lewis is to make a shock return to acting some seven years after he announced his retirement.

The triple Oscar winner will return to the big screen for his son’s directorial debut, a production company associated with the project confirmed.

The Lincoln (2013) and My Left Foot (1990) actor quit showbusiness after leading Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread, based on the fashion world of 1950s London. He has since largely avoided public life.

A statement from his representatives at the time stressed that "Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor."

But the 67-year-old will come out of retirement to star in Anemone, with his son Ronan Day-Lewis at its helm, according to US independent production company Focus Features.

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The film will also feature Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green.

The father and son duo together wrote the screenplay for the film which explores the relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, Deadline reported.

Sir Daniel is known for his powerful performances including as Hawkeye in Michael Mann’s 1992 epic The Last Of The Mohicans.

He has won three best actor Oscars, for playing disabled Irish writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1990), oil man Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2008) and the former US president in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2013).

Sir Daniel initially made his name in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) as a teenager.

Sir Daniel was made a Knight Bachelor of the British Empire by the Duke of Cambridge in 2014.

The statement from representative Leslee Dart announcing Sir Daniel's retirement read: "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.

"This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject."

The veteran actor did however take a break from his showbiz retirement earlier this year to present acclaimed director Martin Scorsese with an award after his western epic Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023).

The actor starred in Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York (2002) and The Age Of Innocence (1993).

Sir Daniel said working with the director was “one of the greatest joys and unexpected privileges of my life”.