At long last, the first image of Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln has surfaced!

In full Lincoln beard, Day-Lewis is pictured in non-Lincoln clothing. The photo shows the 54-year-old actor dining at a restaurant in a sweater and jeans.

Lincoln, which is currently in production in Virginia, will be Day Lewis' first major film role in two years. Known for taking comfortable and long breaks in between pictures, his last film was Nine in 2009, and before that, the 54-year-old starred in There Will Be Blood, which earned him an Academy Award for best actor.

Directed by Stephen Spielberg, Lincoln will feature an all-star cast, including Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln.

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) also star in the biopic, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's Lincoln biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Unlike the book, which spans 944 pages long, the film will only focus on the end of the Civil War.

I was interested in how he ended the war through all the efforts of his generals . . . but more importantly how he passed the 13th Amendment into constitutional law, Spielberg told Collider in September.

It shows Lincoln at work, not just Lincoln standing around posing for the history books . . . arguably the greatest working president in American history doing some of the greatest work for the world, he added.

Naturally, social media sites and blogs have been buzzing with excitement over Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln, as the photo continues to spread.

Day-Lewis was first hired for the project in 2010, after Liam Neeson dropped out.

Lincoln, produced by DreamWorks and Amblin Entertainment, arrives in theaters in late 2012.

What do you think of Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln? Will you watch the film when it comes out? Share your thoughts below.