Daniel Day-Lewis

Sir
Daniel Day-Lewis
Day-Lewis in 2013
Born
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis

(1957-04-29) 29 April 1957 (age 67)
London, England
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
Alma materBristol Old Vic Theatre School
OccupationActor
Years active1981–1997; 2000–2017; 2024–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1996)​
PartnerIsabelle Adjani (1989–1995)
Children3
Parents
Relatives
AwardsFull list

Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor.[1][2] Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema,[3][4][5][6] 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.[7]

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.[8][9] Protective of his private life, he rarely grants interviews and makes very few public appearances.[10]

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.[11] 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, when he took up a new profession as an apprentice shoe-maker in Italy, and from 2017 to 2024.

  1. ^ Appelo, Tim (8 November 2012). "Daniel Day-Lewis Spoofs Clint Eastwood's Obama Chair Routine at Britannia Awards (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013. I know as an Englishman it's absolutely none of my business.
  2. ^ "Daniel Day-Lewis Q&A; -". timeout.com. 20 March 2006. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2024. If I really chose to look at myself, I'd say that probably the thing I'm least interested in about myself is the fact that I'm a middle-class Englishman.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Telegraph Day-Lewis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference USA Today was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Guardian Oscars was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Simkins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Queen's Honours: Day-Lewis receives knighthood". BBC News. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tele2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Parker, Emily (23 January 2008). "Sojourner in Other Men's Souls". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  10. ^ Rainey, Sarah (1 March 2013). "My brother Daniel Day-Lewis won't talk to me any more". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Did Daniel Day-Lewis see his father's ghost as Hamlet? That is the question …". The Guardian. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2020.