Daniel Day-Lewis returns to the big screen after seven years to star in son's directorial debut

Daniel Day-Lewis will return to the big screen. His last appearance was in 2017, when after playing dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread he announced, without further explanation, that he was retiring from acting.

The movie that brought the three-time Oscar winner out of retirement is Anemone, his son Ronan Day-Lewis' first as a director. The screenplay was written by both and fittingly, "explores the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds," as explained by production company Focus Features.

Day-Lewis' surprise retirement seven years ago caused a stir in the media, especially since he never explained his reasoning. His agent announced the news, citing personal reasons and saying there would be no further explanation. The actor himself then outlined some reasons in an interview to W magazine. He claimed he needed to "draw a line," because "I didn’t want to get sucked back into another project. The impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do."

At 67, Day-Lewis has an extensive career behind him. He appeared in Gangs of New York, In the Name of the Father, and Lincoln. On the other hand, his son is a first-time director as well as a painter. This month, his first international solo exhibition debuts in Hong Kong (That Summer We All Saw Them). Day-Lewis will be joined by actors Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green.