Daniel Day-Lewis
Biography
Daniel Day-Lewis is an English actor known for intense method acting and for the research he brings to eccentric characters. Born and raised in London, he trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then moved between stage and film in the early 1980s and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Supporting parts in Gandhi and The Bounty (1984) led to his breakthrough in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and A Room with a View (1986). He became the first three-time winner of the Best Actor Oscar, for Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007), and Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012). He was also nominated for Gerry Conlon in In the Name of the Father (1993), Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York (2002), and Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread (2017). He also took the lead in The Age of Innocence (1993) and The Crucible (1996), and was knighted in 2014.
69years old
Turns 70 on April 29in 168 days
- Born Kensington
- Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
- Daniel Michael Blake Day (birth name)Also credited as Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis and Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis
Movie Career
- Films
- 21
- Career span
- 41 years1984 to 2025
Genres
First and latest
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Getting ready for a role
In 1987, Day-Lewis took a leading role in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, playing a Czech surgeon. Over the eight-month shoot he picked up Czech and began refusing to break character, on or off set, for the whole schedule.
Getting ready for a role
Day-Lewis trained for weeks with former world champion Barry McGuigan for The Boxer, and McGuigan said he became good enough to turn professional.
Getting ready for a role
Day-Lewis returned to the US in 1993 to play Newland Archer in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence. For two months he walked around New York City in 1870s-period aristocratic clothing, including a top hat, cane, and cape.
Getting ready for a role
To prepare for the role of villainous gang leader William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis brought in circus performers to show him how to throw knives, and he stayed in character between takes, keeping his New York accent.
Getting ready for a role
Day-Lewis spent a year getting ready to play Abraham Lincoln, a period he asked for. He read more than 100 books about Lincoln and stayed in Lincoln's voice for the whole shoot, asking British crew members with his accent not to talk to him.
Behind the award
At the 85th Academy Awards, Day-Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for his part in Lincoln, making him the first performer to take that award three times.
Daniel Day-Lewis movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Jim Sheridan directed three of these films, Paul Thomas Anderson two and Martin Scorsese two. Richard Graham appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Richard Graham's page
Liam Neeson's page
David Strathairn's page
Nicole Kidman's page
Dustin Hoffman's page
Judi Dench's page
All films by Jim Sheridan
All films by Paul Thomas Anderson
All films by Martin Scorsese
Also two films together6 more actors
- Cameron DiazTom Cruise: An Eternal Youth (2020) and Gangs of New York (2002)
- Leonardo DiCaprioSpielberg (2017) and Gangs of New York (2002)
- Winona RyderThe Crucible (1996) and The Age of Innocence (1993)
- Pete PostlethwaiteIn the Name of the Father (1993) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- Paul DanoThere Will Be Blood (2007) and The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
- Alec McCowenGangs of New York (2002) and The Age of Innocence (1993)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Daniel Day-Lewis's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$904 million
17 of the 21 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 21 films: 17 worldwide figure; 1 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.
- 17Worldwide figure
- 1Never in cinemas
- 3Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 91% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$275M30.5% of the total
- 2$194M21.4% of the total
- 3$77M8.5% of the total
- 4$76M8.4% of the total
- 5$66M7.3% of the total
- 6$54M6.0% of the total
- 7$48M5.3% of the total
- 8$32M3.6% of the total
$82.5 millionfrom the other 9 films with a worldwide figure, 9% of the total
Awards
Eight awards and honors from 1990 to 2014, five of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 2013 | Best Actor | Lincoln | Won |
| 2008 | Best Actor | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| 1990 | Best Actor | My Left Foot | Won |
| BAFTA | |||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won | ||
| SAG Awards | |||
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Won | ||
| Other honors | |||
| 2014 | Knight Bachelor | Won | |
| 2012 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actor | Won | |
| Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.