Back in 2017, Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the world’s finest stage and screen performers, retired from acting and the movies. He fully intended Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread as his final film. Well, another director has persuaded Daniel Day-Lewis to get back in the acting saddle again — his own son, Roman Day-Lewis. The Oscar winner will star in Roman Day-Lewis’ Anemone, which the father and son duo are co-writing together. Roman Day-Lewis is an accomplished visual artist, and Anemone is his first feature film. Joining Daniel Day-Lewis in the cast of Anemone are Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green.
According to Focus Features, which is releasing Anemone, Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to movie acting “explores the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds.” In a statement about Anemone, Focus Features Chairman Peter Kujawski said of the movie and Day-Lewis’ part in it, “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. They have written a truly exceptional script, and we look forward to bringing their shared vision to audiences alongside the team at Plan B.”
Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. He has three Oscars, and received three nominations for other roles. He also won three Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, and they even knighted him in 2014. So that’s Sir Daniel Day-Lewis to you. Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to the screen for Anemone is actually not the first time he’s come out of retirement. In 1997, he retired from acting to become an apprentice shoemaker in Italy. That retirement was relatively brief, and he returned to acting in 2000. This most recent retirement was slightly longer, about as long as Hugh Jackman’s retirement from playing Wolverine. Hopefully, Daniel Day-Lewis is back to stay this time, and Anemone won’t be his next last movie. Anemone currently does not have a release date.
