Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis

Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an actor of dual English and Irish heritage. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Day-Lewis received a knighthood for services to drama. Born and raised in London, Day-Lewis excelled on stage at the National Youth Theatre before being accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which he attended for three years. Despite his traditional training at the Bristol Old Vic, he is considered a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. Protective of his private life, he rarely grants interviews and makes very few public appearances. Day-Lewis shifted between theatre and film for most of the early 1980s, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company and playing Romeo Montague in Romeo and Juliet and Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Playing the title role in Hamlet at the  National Theatre in London in 1989, he left the stage midway through a performance after breaking down during a scene where the ghost of Hamlet's father appears before him—this was his last appearance on the stage. After supporting film roles in Gandhi (1982) and The Bounty (1984), he earned acclaim for his breakthrough performances in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), A Room with a View (1985), and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). He earned three Academy Awards for Best Actor for his roles as Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), an oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood (2007), and Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012). He was Oscar-nominated for In the Name of the Father (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), and Phantom Thread (2017). Other notable films include The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Crucible (1996), and The Boxer (1997). He retired from acting twice, from 1997 to 2000, when he took up a new profession as an apprentice shoemaker in Italy, and from 2017 to 2024.

Anemone
2025
Screenplay
Daniel Day-Lewis: The Hollywood Genius
2021
Self (archive footage)
Phantom Thread
2017
Script Consultant
Spielberg
2017
Self
Maggie's Plan
2016
Thanks
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
Self (archive footage)
Lincoln: An American Journey
2013
Self
Lincoln
2012
Abraham Lincoln
Access to the Danger Zone
2012
Narrator (voice)
A Man's Story
2011
Self (archival)
Making The Last of the Mohicans
2010
Self
Nine
2009
Guido Contini
There Will Be Blood
2007
Daniel Plainview
The Ballad of Jack and Rose
2005
Music Score Producer
Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York
2003
Self
Abby Singer
2003
Daniel Day-Lewis (uncredited)
Gangs of New York
2002
Bill "The Butcher" Cutting
Forever Ealing
2002
Narrator (voice)
The Boxer
1997
Danny Flynn
The Crucible
1996
John Proctor
The Age of Innocence
1993
Newland Archer
In the Name of the Father
1993
Gerry Conlon
Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence'
1993
Self
The Last of the Mohicans
1992
Hawkeye
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown
1989
Christy Brown
Eversmile New Jersey
1989
Dr. Fergus O'Connell
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
1988
Tomas
Stars & Bars
1988
Henderson Dores
Nanou
1987
Max
A Room with a View
1986
Cecil Vyse
The Insurance Man
1986
Kafka
My Beautiful Laundrette
1985
Johnny Burfoot
The Bounty
1984
John Fryer
Dangerous Corner
1983
Gordon Whitehouse
Gandhi
1982
Colin
How Many Miles to Babylon?
1982
Alex Moore
Artemis '81
1981
Library Student
Sunday Bloody Sunday
1971
Child Vandal (uncredited)