Daniel Day-Lewis Says He ‘Made a F—— Fool of Myself’ with Retirement Announcement

Daniel Day-Lewis is back after an eight-year hiatus from acting — and starring in his son Ronan Day-Lewis’ directorial debut.

On Friday, Sept. 26, Daniel, 68, and Ronan, 27, took part in a discussion following the film Anemone‘s first screening for press at the New York Film Festival, where he explained why he returned to his craft after announcing his retirement in 2017.

“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,” Daniel admitted. “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.”

Opening up about his earlier decision to step away from acting, the three-time Oscar winner shared, “I had long periods where I thought I’m not well suited. The work was always very precious to me — it was like food and drink. But I think I have it in common with a lot of actors, that I’m very ill suited for the life around it… the public aspect of it.”

“We seem to be begging for attention just by virtue of the fact we’re doing that work, but it never really occurs to you that you can’t switch that attention off at will,” he continued. “I was always ill at ease with the public aspect of the life. I thought I’d get used to it and I never really did. And so it left me wondering if I wasn’t just better off keeping out of it.”

Anemone brings the revered actor to the big screen for his first movie role since 2017’s Phantom Thread, this time acting for son Ronan in Ronan’s feature debut as a writer-director, for which Daniel cowrote the script. (Daniel also shares sons Gabriel and Cashel with his wife Rebecca Miller, whom he has been married to since 1996.)

According to an official synopsis, the film deals with familial issues: “Family bonds between fathers, sons and brothers are explored as complex relationships unfold through personal journeys and generational conflicts,” the synopsis reads.

Daniel largely avoids the spotlight outside of promoting his rare movie roles. In the years between when he retired from acting in 2017 and announced his return to work in October 2024 for Anemone, he was photographed on rare occasions; in 2024, he showed up to support longtime collaborator Martin Scorsese at the National Board of Review Awards Gala.

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“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,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski said in a statement when Daniel and Ronan’s new movie was announced in October 2024. “They have written a truly exceptional script, and we look forward to bringing their shared vision to audiences alongside the team at Plan B.”

The New York Film Festival runs from Sept. 26 through Oct. 13.

Anemone is in select theaters Oct. 3 and expands wide Oct. 10.