Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the most acclaimed actors of all time. His career spans more than four decades and he has won no less than three Oscars: a real record! He is best known for his intense, methodical acting style, which has seen him take on some of the most iconic roles in film history. From his first performance in Sunday, Bloody Sunday to his Oscar nominations for There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis has consistently delivered first-rate performances. He has also appeared in numerous other projects, including My Left Foot, Au Nom du Père and Gangs of New York. With a career to match, Daniel Day-Lewis has proved himself to be a world-class actor!
Daniel Michael Day-Lewis was born on April 29, 1957 in Kensington, London, England. His parents, poet Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon, divorced when he was nine.
He grew up in a bohemian household and spent much of his childhood exploring nature. He was sent to board at Bedales Private School in Hampshire, where he began to develop an interest in acting.
After graduating from high school, he entered the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. During his studies, he appeared in a number of theatrical productions and quickly made a name for himself.
In 1980, Day-Lewis made his screen debut in My Beautiful Laundrette, directed by his friend, filmmaker Stephen Frears.
Throughout his career, Daniel Day-Lewis has mainly played leading roles in independent dramas.
In 1988, he starred in My Left Foot, a biographical film following the life of Christy Brown, an Irish writer and painter born with cerebral palsy. For his portrayal of Brown, Day-Lewis won his first Oscar for Best Actor, becoming only the second person to win the award for his first nomination.
Two years later, the actor starred alongside his father in The Last of the Mohicans. He followed this up with the title role in Au nom du père, a biographical drama about the Guildford Four.
Throughout his career, Daniel Day-Lewis has been showered with praise for the quality of his acting. The proof is in the 3 Oscars!
In addition to his first win for My Left Foot, Day-Lewis received his second Oscar for There Will Be Blood, in which he played oil tycoon Daniel Plainview.
He went on to win his third Oscar for his portrayal of former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in the biographical drama Lincoln.
Day-Lewis has also won two Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two BAFTAs. He has been named one of the greatest actors of all time by various publications.
Daniel Day-Lewis is renowned for immersing himself in his roles and putting a lot of preparation into each one. He described his interpretation process as “a ritual to which I must submit myself”.
He is known for transforming his appearance and adopting unusual hobbies and diets to better identify with his characters.
For example, he grew his nails for My Left Foot, lived as a member of an indigenous tribe for The Last of the Mohicans and gained weight for his roles in In the Name of the Father and The Boxer.
During the making of Lincoln, he often argued with the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, to ensure that the film was as faithful to history as possible.
Daniel Day-Lewis married English actress Rebecca Miller in March 1994. He met her when she was at college and he was filming The Last of the Mohicans in the area where she grew up. They have two children together: sons Gabriel Martin (b. 1996) and Ronan Cal Day-Lewis (b. 2002).
The actor opted for dual British-Irish nationality back in 1993, when he moved to County Wicklow in Ireland.
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