Mini Biography
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the only person in film history to win the Oscar award for Best Actor three times. Born in London, England, he is 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). He also appeared on British TV that year in "Frost in May" (1982) and How Many Miles to Babylon? (1982) (TV). Notable theatrical performances include Another Country (1982-83), Dracula (1984), and The Futurists (1986).
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 1986, he appeared on stage in Richard Eyre's The Futurists and on television in Eyre's production of "Screen Two: The Insurance Man (#2.7)" (1986). He also had a small role in a British/French film, Nanou (1986). 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.
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
2012 Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
2009 Nine
Guido Contini
2007 There Will Be Blood
Daniel Plainview
2005 The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Jack Slavin
2002 Gangs of New York
Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting
1997 The Boxer
Danny Flynn
1996 The Crucible
John Proctor
1993 In the Name of the Father
Gerry Conlon
1993 The Age of Innocence
Newland Archer
1992 The Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe)
1989 Eversmile, New Jersey
Dr. Fergus O'Connell
1989 My Left Foot
Christy Brown
1988 Stars and Bars
Henderson Dores (as Daniel Day Lewis)
1988 The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Tomas
1986 Nanou
Max
1986 Screen Two (TV series)
Kafka
1985 A Room with a View
Cecil Vyse (as Daniel Day Lewis)
1985 My Beautiful Laundrette
Johnny (as Daniel Day Lewis)
1985 My Brother Jonathan (TV movie)
Jonathan Dakers
1984 The Bounty
John Fryer
1983 BBC Play of the Month (TV series)
Gordon Whitehouse
1982 Gandhi
Colin (as Daniel Day Lewis)
1982 Frost in May (TV mini-series)
Archie Hughes-Forret
1982 How Many Miles to Babylon? (TV movie)
Alex
1981 Artemis 81 (TV movie)
Library Student
1981 Thank You, P.G. Wodehouse (TV movie)
Psmith
1980 Shoestring (TV series)
DJ
1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday
Child Vandal (uncredited)
