Daniel Day-Lewis

The legendary name of British cinema, Daniel Day-Lewis, was born on April 29, 1957 in London. The artist, who is considered one of the most respected actors in the history of cinema, has been deemed worthy of numerous awards throughout his career spanning forty years. Day-Lewis, who has prestigious awards such as three Oscars, four BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globes, was knighted in 2014 for his contributions to the field of theater.

His career, which started in London's underground theater scenes, gained a new dimension when he was accepted to the Bristol Old Vic Theater School. Despite the traditional education approach of this school, Day-Lewis approached his roles with extraordinary devotion and became known as one of the rare representatives of method acting.

On the other hand, the actor, who was also known for the care he showed to his private life, rarely gave interviews and rarely appeared in public.

Day-Lewis, who shined on both theater and cinema stages in the 1980s, also played important roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the play "Hamlet", which he performed at the National Theater in London in 1989, he fell ill during the ghost scene and had to leave the stage; this was his last theater performance. He started to make a name for himself in cinema with films such as "My Beautiful Laundrette", "Room with a View" and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being".

After supporting roles in productions such as "Gandhi" and "The Bounty", he made his breakthrough with the movie "My Left Foot" and won his first Oscar for this role.

The most important films of Day-Lewis' career include "There Will Be Blood," "Lincoln" and "In the Name of the Father." He also gave unforgettable performances in productions such as "The Last of the Mohicans", "The Age of Innocence", "The Crucible" and "The Boxer". The artist, who retired from acting in 1997, learned the shoemaking profession in Italy and described this process as "Opening the doors of another life." Although he returned to the stage in 2000, he announced his retirement once again in 2017. In 2024, he returned to acting for his son Ronan Day-Lewis' first feature film, "Anemone".

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957, London) is an Oscar and BAFTA award-winning British actor. He received an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in There Will Be Blood and My Left Foot. In 2013, he won an Oscar for the "Best Actor Academy Award" for the third time for his role in the movie "Lincoln", breaking new ground in this category.

He came from an artistic family. His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was a poet appointed by the British government to write poetry for state ceremonies. Sir Michael Balcon, the grandfather of Daniel Day-Lewis, who was born to the actress Jill Balcon from his second marriage, was one of the most important names of British cinema and was the head of the famous production company Ealing Studios. Her older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, was a documentary film producer.

When Daniel was 2 years old, the Day-Lewis family moved from London to Croom's Hill in Greenwich. Daniel, who spent his childhood years in this city, lost his father when he was 15 years old. His father, who was 53 years old when he was born, could not pay much attention to Daniel due to his health problems. Later, Daniel would regret not having a closer relationship with his father.

Day-Lewis, who bullied his friends during his childhood in Greenwich because he thought he was a flashy person, did not take long to adopt the different accent and characteristics of the region. Daniel Day-Lewis would later say about this period that he was a child who did not know the rules and laws and that he stole items from markets.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in a total of 44 productions; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• BBC Play of the Month (1965) — Gordon Whitehouse
• The Oscars (1953)
• Playhouse (1974) — Alex
• There Will Be Blood (2007) — Daniel Plainview
• Gangs of New York (2002) — Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting
• Phantom Thread (2017) — Reynolds Woodcock
• The Last of the Mohicans (1992) — Hawkeye
• Shoestring (1979) — DJ
• Parkinson (2004) — Self - Guest
• Lincoln (2012) — Abraham Lincoln
• The Age of Innocence (1993) — Newland Archer
• Gandhi (1982) — Colin

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.