Daniel-Day Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is a retired English actor who is widely regarded as one of the top actors of his generation. He has worked closely with many A-list directors, including Jim Sheridan, Martin Scorsese, P.T. Anderson and Steven Spielberg.
He retired from acting in 2017 after the completion of his final film role in Phantom Thread.
Biography[]
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis was born in London, England, the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis (aka Nicholas Blake) (Poet Laureate of England) and his second wife, Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema, head of the famous Ealing Studios. His older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, is a documentary filmmaker. Daniel was educated at Sevenoaks School in Kent, which he despised, and the more progressive Bedales in Petersfield, which he adored. He studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic School. Daniel made his film debut in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), but then acted on stage with the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Companies and did not appear on screen again until 1982, when he landed his first adult role, a bit part in Gandhi (1982).
His first major supporting role in a feature film was in The Bounty (1984), quickly followed by My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and A Room with a View (1985). The latter two films opened in New York on the same day, offering audiences and critics evidence of his remarkable range and establishing him as a major talent. The New York Film Critics named him Best Supporting Actor for those performances. In 1987 he assumed leading-man status in Philip Kaufman's The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), followed by a comedic role in the unsuccessful Stars and Bars (1988). His brilliant performance as "Christy Brown" in Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot (1989), won him numerous awards, including The Academy Award for best actor. (During production he used method acting and remained in a wheel chair).
He returned to the stage to work again with Eyre, as Hamlet at the National Theater, but was forced to leave the production close to the end of its run because of exhaustion, and has not appeared on stage since. He took a hiatus from film as well until 1992, when he starred in The Last of the Mohicans (1992), a film that met with mixed reviews but was a great success at the box office. He worked with American director Martin Scorsese in The Age of Innocence (1993) in 1994. Subsequently, he teamed again with Jim Sheridan to star in In the Name of the Father (1993), a critically acclaimed performance that earned him another Academy Award nomination. His next project was in the role of John Proctor in father-in-law Arthur Miller's play The Crucible (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner.
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Child vandal | Uncredited |
1982 | Gandhi | Colin (South African street thug) | |
1984 | The Bounty | John Fryer | |
1985 | My Beautiful Laundrette | Johnny | National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View) |
1985 | A Room with a View | Cecil Vyse | National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette) |
1986 | Nanou | Max | |
1988 | The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Tomas | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor |
1988 | Stars and Bars | Henderson Dores | |
1989 | Eversmile, New Jersey | Dr. Fergus O'Connell | |
1989 | My Left Foot | Christy Brown | Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actor Montreal World Film Festival – Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention (Shared with Jim Sheridan) National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
1992 | The Last of the Mohicans | Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe) | Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
1993 | The Age of Innocence | Newland Archer | Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor |
1993 | In the Name of the Father | Gerry Conlon | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
1996 | The Crucible | John Proctor | |
1997 | The Boxer | Danny Flynn | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
2002 | Gangs of New York | Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt) Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Tied with Michael Caine for The Quiet American) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Actor Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor |
2005 | The Ballad of Jack and Rose | Jack Slavin | Marrakech International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
2007 | There Will Be Blood | Daniel Plainview | Academy Award for Best Actor Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actor Austin Film Critics Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Irish Film Award for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Palm Springs International Film Festival – Desert Palm Achievement Award Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Village Voice Film Poll – Best Actor Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor |
2009 | Nine | Guido Contini | Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble |
2012 | Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln | post-production |
2017 | Phantom Thread | Charles James | Final film role |