Daniel Day-Lewis: Best Actor Winner

By Maya Archer

An award-winning actor, Daniel Day-Lewis is most widely recognized for his Oscar winning roles in "My Left Foot" and "There Will Be Blood". He has also appeared in such films as "Gangs of New York", "The Last of the Mohicans", and "Nine". The first wide-spread notice Daniel had received was with his performances in the movies "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985) and "The Unbearable Likeness of Being" (1988). Later on, he was honored with Oscars for Best Actor for his outstanding portrayals in My Left Foot (1971), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Lincoln (2012). Furthermore, he received nominations for his turns in In the Name of the Father (1993) and Gangs of New York (2012). Daniel Day-Lewis is the first male actor to win three Oscars for lead roles, concluding with his winning performance in "Lincoln".
Daniel Day-Lewis has proved over the years he is a dedicated and complex actor who fully delves into his characters while remaining highly reserved about his private life to the point of being secluded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: May 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304924919

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Early Life and Career

Daniel Day-Lewis was born into a well-to-do and creative family in London, England. His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was a writer, enjoyed the honor of being England's poet laureate for the last four years of his life. His mother, Jill Balcon, was an actress.

Day-Lewis was such a poorly behaved student as his South London public school that his parents sent him to a private school in Kent, called Sevenoaks, but Day-Lewis did not fare much better there. Despite his lack of success in school, Day-Lewis had plenty of other talents. He shared the Balcon family inclination to act, but he was initially more drawn to working-class pursuits than to the stage. Enamored with woodworking and craftsmanship as a teenager, he focused for a time on these pursuits rather than on acting. Eventually, the future Oscar winner allowed chance to play a role in his future, and he applied to only one theater program. When he was accepted to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Day-Lewis threw himself fully into the craft of drama.

After his years at the Bristol Old Vic and several forays onto the stage, Day-Lewis made it to the silver screen with a small part in Gandhi (1982). He continued to appear in films and plays for several years, during which time he developed his much noted and intense acting style. Applying the same ethos to drama as he did to woodworking, Day-Lewis became a method actor who devotes himself physically, psychologically, and emotionally to getting in character for each of his roles. This creative process ultimately served Day-Lewis well in Hollywood. Day-Lewis explained his preparations for roles this way: I don't rehearse at all in film if I can help it. In talking a character through, you define it. And if you define it, you kill it dead.

Critically Acclaimed Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis shifted between theater and