Daniel Day-Lewis too ‘inside’ work on latest film to get distracted by being directed by his son
In another admission he throws himself deeply into his roles, Daniel Day-Lewis has said he was too “inside” the work on his latest film to get distracted by the fact it was being directed by his son.
Daniel Day-Lewis was too “inside” the work on his latest film to get distracted by the fact it was being directed by his son.
The Oscar-winner, 68, has returned to acting for the first time in eight years in a film directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis, 27, titled Anemone, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on Sunday (28.09.25) at Alice Tully Hall.
But Daniel, who had announced his retirement in 2017 after his final role in Phantom Thread, said the family connection was not something he dwelled on while making the project.
When asked if it felt unusual to have his son in charge, Daniel told People: “Well if I stepped outside of it to look in that way, yeah, I definitely would’ve probably been stopped in my tracks.
“But luckily, we were both so inside of the work, inside the story that we were trying to tell.
“Yeah, there were days on set that we looked at each other and just couldn’t believe that we were actually getting to do this thing, but other than that we were just getting on with it.
“There wasn’t time to think that way, luckily.”
Anemone marks Ronan’s debut as a writer-director and Daniel’s first acting role in nearly a decade. Daniel co-wrote the script with Ronan, who he shares with his wife Rebecca Miller.
The couple are also parents to sons Gabriel and Cashel.
Sean Bean, who stars alongside Daniel in the film, said he felt included in the close-knit production. The actor said: “Daniel is obviously focused very much on his work.
“Ronan was directing and he was slipping into a first-time director. I remember he was very confident and he was very self-assured, which is always a nice thing to see.
“I think we were so kind of focused on our characters, Daniel and I. They weren’t laughing and joking – they were very focused.”
Sean added: “Ronan is a really naturally warm and gentle guy, but he’s got a kind of a backbone and he knows exactly what he’s doing, and it was great to watch him and become his friend.”
Daniel also addressed his decision to return after previously retiring.
He said: “I made a f****** fool of myself by announcing that I was going to stop working, and probably a bigger fool of myself coming back.
“But to deny myself the possibility of working with Ronan just to stand on my pride, I think that would’ve been probably a worse decision than just, well, I said that, so I’m sticking to it.”
According to an official synopsis, Anemone explores family bonds between fathers, sons and brothers, focusing on personal journeys and generational conflicts.
The film opens in select theatres on 3 October and will expand nationwide on 10 October.
