Daniel Day-Lewis is coming back

Seven years after the announcement of his definitive retirement from the stage, English actor Daniel Day-Lewis has announced his return to the big screen. Winner of three Academy Awards and considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, Day-Lewis had declared in 2017, after the release of the film Phantom Thread, that he would end his cinematic career for personal reasons. It was a painful farewell for cinephiles around the world, who, however, did not question the validity of his decision. In recent days, however, news has arrived from the production company Focus Pictures about a new project titled Anemone, directed by the actor’s son, Ronan Day-Lewis. It is an independent film that will explore «the intricate relationships between fathers, sons, and brothers, and the dynamics of family bonds», with a screenplay co-written by the two Day-Lewis. Filming is currently underway in Manchester, and among the cast members are Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green.

This is not the first time that Daniel Day-Lewis has stepped away from the scene. In the middle of his career, in 1997, after the filming of The Boxer, he decided to take a long break from the world of cinema, which lasted five years, before returning in 2002 with the epic Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese. The peculiarity of Day-Lewis's career, compared to other big names of his generation, has been his consistent preference for quality over quantity. This is evident both in his careful selection of projects and his renowned dedication to character, which has consecrated him as the method actor par excellence. In over 35 years of career, he has participated in only twenty films, yet has earned three Academy Awards with six nominations, placing him at the fifth position among the most awarded actors in Academy history. Knowing Day-Lewis's modus operandi, it seems natural to think that Anemone is not just the product of another typical nepobaby, but an artistic vision in which the actor firmly believes, enough to bring him back in front of the camera. However, we will have to wait until 2025 to judge Ronan Day-Lewis's directorial debut and his father's “re-debut” as the lead actor.