Daniel Day-Lewis explains why he returned to acting after 8 years for his son’s directorial debut

Although Daniel Day-Lewis had announced years agone that helium intended to discontinue from acting, the Oscar-winning histrion has stepped backmost onto the acceptable — this clip for his son. He explained that refusing to collaborate with Ronan connected his archetypal movie would person been a overmuch worse mistake.

Father and lad appeared unneurotic astatine the satellite premiere of Anemone astatine the New York Film Festival connected Sunday, September 28.

“I looked foolish saying I would halt working, and astir apt adjacent much foolish coming back,” Day-Lewis told PEOPLE. “But denying myself the accidental to enactment with Ronan conscionable to sphere my pridefulness would person been a worse determination than simply admitting, ‘I said it, but I’m moving past it.’”

For his archetypal acting relation successful 8 years, Day-Lewis recovered himself being directed by his ain lad — though, helium admitted, determination wasn’t overmuch clip to dwell connected that fact.

The 68-year-old histrion noted that their household ties didn’t measurement heavy connected him during the production. When asked if it felt unusual to beryllium directed by his 27-year-old son, Day-Lewis — who retired successful 2017 — replied:

“If I had stepped backmost and looked astatine it that way, yes, I astir apt would person walked disconnected the acceptable immediately. Luckily, we were some truthful absorbed successful the work, successful the communicative we were trying to tell.”

He added: “There were days connected acceptable erstwhile we looked astatine each different and couldn’t rather judge we were really doing this, but beyond that we conscionable kept moving forward. Thankfully, determination wasn’t clip to overthink it.”

Anemone not lone marks Day-Lewis’s instrumentality to acting aft an eight-year interruption but besides Ronan’s debut arsenic some screenwriter and director.

Actor Sean Bean, who co-stars successful the film, told PEOPLE helium felt similar helium was portion of a household project: “They were some incredibly welcoming,” helium said.