Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis

Birthdate
April 29, 1957 (67 years old)
Place of Birth
Greenwich, London, England, UK
Known For
Acting

Details

Birthdate
April 29, 1957 (67 years old)
Place of Birth
Greenwich, London, England, UK
Known For
Acting

Biography

Daniel Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is a retired actor of British and Irish citizenship. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, including three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

The actor 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 Academy Awards for his roles in My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012). His other Oscar-nominated roles were in 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 from 1997 to 2000, taking up a new profession as an apprentice shoe-maker in Italy. Although he returned to acting, he announced his retirement again in 2017.

Daniel Day-Lewis's LGBTQ+ Titles

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Child Vandal (uncredited)
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette
Johnny Burfoot

Acting (42)

Anemone
2021
Daniel Day-Lewis: The Hollywood Genius as Self (archive footage)
2017
Phantom Thread as Reynolds Woodcock
2017
Spielberg as Self
2014
And the Oscar Goes To... as Self (archive footage)
2013
Lincoln: An American Journey as Self
2012
Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln
2012
Access to the Danger Zone as Narrator (voice)
2011
A Man's Story as Self
2010
Making The Last of the Mohicans as Self
2009
Nine as Guido Contini
2007
There Will Be Blood as Daniel Plainview
2005
The Ballad of Jack and Rose as Jack Slavin
2003
Abby Singer as Daniel Day-Lewis (uncredited)
2003
Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York as Self
2002
Gangs of New York as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting
2002
Forever Ealing as Narrator (voice)
1997
The Boxer as Danny Flynn
1996
The Crucible as John Proctor
1993
In the Name of the Father as Gerry Conlon
1993
The Age of Innocence as Newland Archer
1993
Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence' as Self
1992
The Last of the Mohicans as Hawkeye
1989
Eversmile New Jersey as Dr. Fergus O'Connell
1989
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown as Christy Brown
1988
Stars & Bars as Henderson Dores
1988
The Unbearable Lightness of Being as Tomas
1987
Nanou as Max
1986
The Insurance Man as Kafka
1985
A Room with a View as Cecil Vyse
1985
My Beautiful Laundrette as Johnny Burfoot
1985
My Brother Jonathan as Jonathan Dakers (5 episodes)
1984
The Bounty as John Fryer
1983
Dangerous Corner as Gordon Whitehouse
1982
Gandhi as Colin
1982
How Many Miles to Babylon? as Alex Moore
1981
Artemis '81 as Library Student
1979
Shoestring (1 episode)
1979
Shoestring as DJ (11 episodes)
1971
Sunday Bloody Sunday as Child Vandal (uncredited)
1965
BBC Play of the Month as Gordon Whitehouse (1 episode)
1953
The Oscars as Self (2 episodes)

Writing (2)

Anemone • Screenplay
• Screenplay
2017
Phantom Thread • Script Consultant
• Script Consultant

Sound (1)

2005
The Ballad of Jack and Rose • Music Score Producer
• Music Score Producer

Crew (1)

2016
Maggie's Plan • Thanks
• Thanks