“I Just Wanted to Work on Something Else for a While”

The post Daniel Day-Lewis “Never Intended” Retirement from Acting: “I Just Wanted to Work on Something Else for a While” appeared first on Consequence.

Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t abandon his fans! That’s right, cinephiles, the elusive actor told Rolling Stone in a new interview that, despite earlier comments (and a genuine break from public life), he never actually intended to retire from acting. Guess he’s not so finished after all?

The about-face came as Day-Lewis and his son, Ronan Day-Lewis, are currently promoting their upcoming film, Anemone. The thriller is both the younger Day-Lewis’ feature-length directorial debut and the Oscar winner’s first film since 2017’s excellent Phantom Thread.

“Looking back on it now — I would have done well to just keep my mouth shut, for sure,” said Daniel Day-Lewis. “It just seems like such grandiose gibberish to talk about. I never intended to retire, really. I just stopped doing that particular type of work so I could do some other work. I never, you know… Apparently, I’ve been accused of retiring twice now. I never meant to retire from anything! I just wanted to work on something else for a while.”

The man who played the greatest Abraham Lincoln ever went on to say that the decision to break from acting was likely a result of his being rather stubborn.

“I have a lot of pride, and I thought, ‘If I draw a line under this, I’ll be too proud to go back on that. Because I know there’ll come a day when I’ll be tempted again. But if I’ve said I’m not doing this, I won’t do it,’” said Daniel Day-Lewis. “This just shows I’m not as proud as I like to think I am! I don’t know if any of that makes sense, David, but I do feel it’s important to restate that the love of the work itself, that has never diminished for me.”

Rolling Stone’s David Fear delved a little deeper into the subject, referencing another interview together from the early 2000s where Daniel Day-Lewis said that a question regarding his work-life balance “suggests that there is no connection between the two.” This time around, Daniel Day-Lewis explained that as he gets older, his creative work simply requires more effort and personal resources.

“As I get older, it just takes me longer and longer to find my way back to the place where the furnace is burning again. But working with Ro, that furnace just lit up,” he said. “And it was, from beginning to end, just pure joy to spend that time together with him.” Moments later, he added, “I wish you’d been around to speak on my behalf during these times and just bring that quote up then.”

When the actor announced his retirement in 2017, it sent shockwaves across Hollywood. The actor seemed to be at or near his creative peak, and Phantom Thread earned Daniel Day-Lewis a nomination for Best Actor at the 90th Academy Awards. (The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, and Best Original Score.) Complicating matters was the abrupt, semi-frigid nature of the announcement.

“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor,” read a statement from his spokesperson. “He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”

So, then, what exactly brought Daniel Day-Lewis back into the spotlight? As already mentioned, you can thank his son and collaborator. (The Day-Lewis men also co-wrote the Anemone script together.)

“I had some residual sadness because I knew Ronan was going to go on to make films, and I was walking away from that,” said Daniel Day-Lewis. “I thought, wouldn’t it be lovely if we could do something together and find a way of maybe containing it, so that it didn’t necessarily have to be something that required all the paraphernalia of a big production.”

While he said he had “certain reservations about being back in the public world again,” ultimately, Ronan Day-Lewis “made it pretty clear that he wasn’t going to do it if I didn’t do it.” The things we do for our kids, amirite?

“It was just kind of a low-level fear, [an] anxiety about re-engaging with the business of filmmaking,” said Daniel Day-Lewis. “The work was always something I loved. I never, ever stopped loving the work. But there were aspects of the way of life that went with it that I’d never come to terms with — from the day I started out to today.”

He added that despite his years of acting experience, this “recovery” process still takes its toll.

“There’s something about that process that left me feeling hollowed out at the end of it,” said Daniel Day-Lewis. “I mean, I was well acquainted with it. I understood that it was all part of the process, and that there would be a regeneration eventually. And it was only really in the last experience [Phantom Thread] that I began to feel quite strongly that maybe there wouldn’t be that regeneration anymore. That I just probably should just keep away from it, because I didn’t have anything else to offer.”

Sure, you could get upset at the irksome nature of elite creatives getting to play career ping-pong. (Especially since most of us schlubs don’t have that choice.) Similarly, you could be mad that it was the scourge of nepotism that finally got him off the couch. But at the end of the day, one of the finest actors ever to live is back doing what he does best, so that’s worthy of celebration.

As the writer already hinted at, it’s not the first time Day-Lewis has “retired.” As Variety noted, he left acting in 1997 to “become a shoemaker in Italy” following The Boxer. He only returned in 2002 with a little film called Gangs of New York. (Daniel Day-Lewis’ 2017-2025 hiatus mostly remains a mystery, and he only made one public appearance in 2024 at a Martin Scorsese tribute event.)

Anemone opens in limited release on October 3rd before an expanded schedule on October 10th. The film also stars Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, and Safia Oakley-Green. Check out the trailer below.