Is Daniel Day-Lewis unretiring from acting seven years after leaving the business? That’s the speculation thanks to on-set photos of the three-time Oscar winner on the set of the new film Avelyn with Lord of the Rings star Sean Bean.

The British tabloid Daily Mail ran paparazzi photos of a mustachioed Day-Lewis, 67, rising a motorcycle with Bean.

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Reps for Day-Lewis did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MovieMaker on Tuesday.

Day-Lewis hasn’t acted since 2017’s Phantom Thread, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Soon after the film, a rep announced that he would “no longer be working as an actor.”

She added that he was “immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years.”

Day-Lewis later told W magazine that he felt “great sadness” at stepping away but felt it was necessary.

“‘The impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do,” he told the magazine. “Do I feel better? Not yet. I have great sadness. And that’s the right way to feel.”

He added: “When I began, it was a question of salvation. Now, I want to explore the world in a different way.” 

He maintained such a low profile after retiring from acting that he set off massive press attention when he was photographed simply walking around New York City in spring of 2023. In June, he received renewed attention when he was seen exiting a building with crutches.

Daniel Day-Lewis Comes Out of Retirement?

Day-Lewis won his Oscars for 1989’s My Left Foot, 2007’s There Will Be Blood and 2012’s Lincoln. His other notable roles include Last of the Mohicans, The Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence, both with director Martin Scorsese, and In the Name of the Father.

In the new paparazzi photos with Bean, which you can view here, Daniel Day-Lewis has a gray mustache and white stubble, and holds the handlebars of a bike. He wears a white helmet, as does Bean, who sits behind him on the bike.

The Daily Mail said the shots were taken in Manchester, and that many members of the film crew were present on the street.

Little is known about Avelyn, but the Daily Mail said Bean is believed to play an ex-soldier in the film.

Main image: Daniel Day-Lewis in Phatom Thread. Focus Features.