Overview

• After eight years away, he co-wrote and stars in Anemone, directed by Ronan Day-Lewis, with Focus Features opening it in limited release Oct. 3 and expanding Oct. 10.
• He says the filmmaking grind left him feeling “hollowed out” after Phantom Thread, which fed into his 2017 decision to step back.
• He describes “residual sadness” about leaving as his son began making films, adding that Ronan made clear the project would not happen without him in the cast.
• Anemone will screen at the New York and London Film Festivals and is produced by Plan B, with Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green among the cast.
• Set in northern England, the film centers on a reclusive man confronted by his brother, as Day-Lewis now calls his past retirement declaration “grandiose gibberish.”