Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis
Day-Lewis at the 2008 BAFTA awards Born Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis
29 April 1957(1957-04-29) (age 51)
London, EnglandYears active 1971 - present Spouse(s) Rebecca Miller(1996-) Domestic partner(s) Isabelle Adjani
(1989-1994) Awards won Academy Awards Best Actor
1989 My Left Foot
2007 There Will Be Blood BAFTA Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role
1989 My Left Foot
2002 Gangs of New York
2007 There Will Be Blood Golden Globe Awards Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2007 There Will Be Blood Irish Film and Television AwardsBest International Actor
2007 There Will Be Blood Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actor - Motion Picture
2002 Gangs of New York
2007 There Will Be Blood
Other Awards NYFCC Award for Best Actor
1989 My Left Foot
2002 Gangs of New York
2007 There Will Be Blood
NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor
1986 My Beautiful Laundrette ; A Room with a View
NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor
1986 My Beautiful Laundrette ; A Room with a View
Critics Choice Award for Best Actor
2002 Gangs of New York
2007 There Will Be Blood

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is a British-born actor with dual British and Irish citizenship. Day-Lewis studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for portraying Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood and Christy Brown for My Left Foot. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only four movies in the last ten years.[1] He is a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. Often, he will remain completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedule of his films.[1]

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 Awards and nominations
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Early life

Day-Lewis was born in London, the son of actress Jill Balcon and the Irish-born, British Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis has dual British-Irish citizenship.[2][3] His mother is of Baltic Jewish descent, the daughter of Sir Michael Balcon, who was the former head of Ealing Studios.[4][5] Two years after his birth in London, the Day-Lewis family moved to Croom's Hill, Greenwich, where Daniel grew up along with his older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, who later became a documentary filmmaker and television chef. Cecil Day-Lewis was already 53 years old at the time of his son's birth, and seemed to take little interest in his children.[6] Following frequent health problems, he died when Daniel was 15. Daniel felt unsettled about his lack of emotion, and regretted not having been closer to his father.

Living in Greenwich, Day-Lewis found himself among tough South London kids and being Jewish and "posh", he was often bullied.[7] Very quickly, therefore, he mastered the local accent and mannerisms — which he believes to have been the first convincing performances he gave. Later in life, he was known to speak of himself as very much a disorderly character in his younger years, often in trouble for shoplifting and other petty crimes.[8][9]

In 1968, Day-Lewis's parents, finding him to be "too wild", sent him to Sevenoaks School in Kent, as a boarder.[9] Though he detested the school, he was introduced to his two most prominent interests, woodworking and acting. While his disdain for the school grew, he made his film debut at the age of 14 in Sunday Bloody Sunday in which he played a vandal in an uncredited role. He described the experience as "heaven", for getting paid £2 to vandalize expensive cars parked outside his local church.[6] After two years at Sevenoaks, Daniel was transferred to the Bedales School in Petersfield.[9]

Leaving Bedales in 1975, his unruly attitude had faded and he now had to make a career choice. Although he had excelled onstage at the National Youth Theatre, he decided to become a cabinet-maker, applying for a five-year apprenticeship. However, because of a lack of experience, he was not accepted.[9] He then applied (and was accepted) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which he attended for three years, eventually performing at the Bristol Old Vic itself.[9] (At one point he played understudy to Pete Postlethwaite, whom he would later play opposite in In the Name of the Father, and with whom he shares a brief scene in Last of the Mohicans where Postlethwaite is a British officer)

Career

1980s

Eleven years after his film debut, Day-Lewis continued his film career with a small part in Gandhi (1982) as Colin, a street thug who bullies the title character, only to be immediately chastised by his high-strung mother. In 1984, he had a supporting role as the conflicted, but ultimately loyal first mate in The Bounty, after which he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. (He later grew to detest the character, however, and often described him as a "wanker").[citation needed]

The actor was next featured on stage as "The Count" in the stage-play of Dracula where he appeared with his hair dyed blond in a throwback to Nosferatu. He later let his hair grow out to give a frosted "punk look" when he played half of a gay bi-racial couple in My Beautiful Laundrette. Day-Lewis gained further public notice when the film was released simultaneously with A Room with a View (1986), in which he played an entirely different character: the effete upper-class fiancé of the main character (played by Helena Bonham Carter).

In 1987, Day-Lewis assumed leading man status by starring in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, co-starring Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche, as a Czech doctor whose hyperactive and purely physical sex life is thrown into disarray when he allows himself to become emotionally involved with a woman. During the eight-month shoot he learned Czech and first began to refuse to break character on or off the set for the entire shooting schedule.[9]

Day-Lewis put his personal version of "method acting" into full use in 1989 with his performance as Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot which won him numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. During filming, his eccentricities came to the fore, due to his refusal to break character. Playing a severely paralyzed character on screen, off screen Day-Lewis had to be wheeled around the set in his wheelchair, and crew members would curse at having to lift him over camera and lighting wires, all so that he might gain insight into all aspects of Christy Brown's life, including the embarrassments.[8] He broke two ribs during filming from assuming a hunched-over position in his wheelchair for so many weeks.[10]

Daniel Day-Lewis returned to the stage to work with Richard Eyre, as Hamlet at the National Theatre, but collapsed in the middle of a scene where the ghost of Hamlet's father first appears to his son. He began sobbing uncontrollably and refused to go back on stage; his understudy (a then unknown Jeremy Northam) finished what little was left of the production's run. One rumour following the incident was that Day-Lewis had seen the ghost of his own father,[9] although the incident was officially attributed to exhaustion. He confirmed on the top British celebrity chat show 'Parkinson' on ITV that this rumour was true. He has not appeared on stage since.

1990s

In 1992, three years after his Oscar win, The Last of the Mohicans was released. Day-Lewis' character research for this film was well-publicized; he reportedly underwent rigorous weight training and learned to live off the land and forest where his character lived, camping, hunting and fishing. He even carried a Kentucky rifle at all times during filming in order to remain in character and learned how to skin animals.

He returned to work with Jim Sheridan on In the Name of the Father, in which he played Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four who were wrongfully convicted of a bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA. He lost a substantial amount of weight for the part, kept his Northern Irish accent on and off the set for the entire shooting schedule, and spent stretches of time in a prison cell. He also insisted that crew members throw cold water at him and verbally abuse him. The film earned him his second Academy Award nomination, his third BAFTA nomination, and his second Golden Globe nomination.

In 1996, Day-Lewis starred in a film version of The Crucible based on the play by Arthur Miller and co-starring Winona Ryder. He followed that with Jim Sheridan's The Boxer as a former boxer and IRA member recently released from prison. His preparation included training for two years with former boxing world champion Barry McGuigan.

Following The Boxer, Daniel Day-Lewis took a leave of absence from acting by putting himself into "semi-retirement" and returning to his old passion of woodworking. He moved to Florence, Italy, where he became intrigued by the craft of shoemaking, eventually apprenticing as a shoemaker for a time while his exact whereabouts and actions were not made publicly known.[11] While, as a consequence, little of these events are known, it has been rumoured that Day-Lewis, in return for room and board, instructed the master cobbler in acting. It has further been suggested that, following Day-Lewis' departure, the shoemaker took up a career as a traveling Commedia dell'Arte performer. Day-Lewis has refused to comment on the subject, simply stating that "Laurencino [the shoemaker] was a man of many gifts".

2000s

After a five-year absence from filming, Day-Lewis returned to act in multiple Academy Award nominated films such as, Gangs of New York, a film directed by Martin Scorsese (with whom he had worked on The Age of Innocence) and produced by Harvey Weinstein. In his role as the villain gang leader "Bill the Butcher" (who, ironically, has a pure hatred for Ireland and the Irish people), he starred along with Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Bill's young protegé. He began his lengthy, self-disciplined process by taking lessons as an apprentice butcher, and while filming, he was never out of character between takes (including keeping his character's New York accent). At one point during filming, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He refused to wear a warmer coat or to take treatment because it was not in keeping with the period. However, he was eventually persuaded to seek medical treatment. His performance in Gangs of New York earned him his third Academy Award nomination and won him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

After Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis' wife, director Rebecca Miller (daughter of playwright Arthur Miller), offered him the lead role in her film The Ballad of Jack and Rose, in which he played a dying man with regrets over how his life had evolved and over how he had raised his teenage daughter. During filming he arranged to live separately from his wife in order to achieve the 'isolation' needed to focus on his own character's reality.[6] The film received mixed reviews, while Day-Lewis received almost universal praise for his performance.[citation needed]

Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. The role earned him his second Best Actor Academy Award.

In 2007, Day-Lewis appeared in director Paul Thomas Anderson's loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!, titled There Will Be Blood.[12] Day-Lewis received the BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award (which he dedicated to the late Heath Ledger), Critic's Choice Award, Golden Globe, and Academy Award for Best Actor (2008) for his performance in the film.

He is currently in talks to star in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation of Nine.

According to broadwayworld.com. He is signed for Nine film, rehearsal starts in July 28 while principal photography starts in September 29. [13]

Personal life

Day-Lewis rarely talks publicly about his personal life. He had a relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani. The relationship lasted six years and eventually ended after a split and reconciliation.[9] Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis was born on April 9, 1995 in New York, months after the relationship between the two actors had ended.

In 1996, while working on the film version of the stage-play The Crucible, he visited the home of playwright Arthur Miller where he was introduced to the writer's daughter, Rebecca Miller. The couple have two sons, Ronan Cal Day-Lewis (born June 14, 1998) and Cashel Blake Day-Lewis (born in May 2002) and divide their time between their homes in the U.S. and Ireland.[6] He is a supporter of Millwall Football Club.[14]

Filmography

Year Title Role Director Notes 1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday (film)Child vandal John Schlesinger(uncredited) 1982 GandhiColin - South African Street Tough Richard Attenborough 1984 The BountyJohn Fryer Roger Donaldson 1985 My Beautiful LaundretteJohnny Stephen Frears A Room with a ViewCecil Vyse James Ivory 1986Nanou Max Conny Templeman 1988 The Unbearable Lightness of BeingTomas Philip KaufmanStars and Bars Henderson Dores Pat O'Connor 1989 Eversmile, New JerseyDr. Fergus O'Connell Carlos Sorin My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown Christy Brown Jim Sheridan 1992 The Last of the MohicansHawkeye (Nathaniel Poe) Michael Mann 1993 The Age of InnocenceNewland Archer Martin Scorsese In the Name of the FatherGerry Conlon Jim Sheridan 1996 The Crucible John Proctor Nicholas Hytner 1997 The BoxerDanny Flynn Jim Sheridan 2002 Gangs of New YorkBill 'The Butcher' Cutting Martin Scorsese 2005 The Ballad of Jack and RoseJack Slavin Rebecca Miller 2007 There Will Be BloodDaniel Plainview Paul Thomas Anderson 2009 NineGuido Contini Rob Marshall

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result 1985 NBR AwardBest Supporting Actor A Room with a View Won NYFCC AwardBest Supporting Actor Won NBR AwardBest Supporting Actor My Beautiful Laundrette Won NYFCC AwardBest Supporting Actor Won 1989 Academy AwardBest Actor My Left Foot Won BAFTA AwardBest Actor Won Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated NYFCC AwardBest Actor Won 1992 BAFTA AwardBest Actor The Last of the Mohicans Nominated 1993 Academy AwardBest Actor In the Name of the Father Nominated BAFTA AwardBest Actor Nominated Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated 1997 Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Drama The Boxer Nominated 2002 Academy AwardBest Actor Gangs of New York Nominated BAFTA AwardBest Actor Won Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated NYFCC AwardBest Actor Won SAG AwardOutstanding Actor - Motion Picture Won 2007 Academy AwardBest Actor There Will Be Blood Won Saturn AwardBest Actor Nominated BAFTA AwardBest Actor Won Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Drama Won IFTA AwardBest International Actor Won NYFCC AwardBest Actor Won SAG AwardOutstanding Actor - Motion Picture Won

Preceded by
Walter Murch Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion
2007 Succeeded by
TBA Awards Academy AwardPreceded by
Dustin Hoffman
for Rain Man Best Actor
1989
for My Left FootSucceeded by
Jeremy Irons
for Reversal of FortunePreceded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of ScotlandBest Actor
2007
for There Will Be BloodSucceeded by
Incumbent BAFTA AwardPreceded by
John Cleese
for A Fish Called Wanda Best Actor in a Leading Role
1989
for My Left FootSucceeded by
Philippe Noiret
for Cinema ParadisoPreceded by
Russell Crowe
for A Beautiful MindBest Actor in a Leading Role
2002
for Gangs of New YorkSucceeded by
Bill Murray
for Lost in TranslationPreceded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of ScotlandBest Actor in a Leading Role
2007
for There Will Be BloodSucceeded by
Incumbent
New York Film Critics Circle AwardsPreceded by
Klaus Maria Brandauer
for Out of Africa Best Supporting Actor
1986
for My Beautiful Laundrette ; A Room with a ViewSucceeded by
Morgan Freeman
for Street SmartPreceded by
Jeremy Irons
for Dead Ringers Best Actor
1989
for My Left FootSucceeded by
Robert De Niro
for Awakenings ; GoodFellasPreceded by
Tom Wilkinson
for In the BedroomBest Actor
2002
for Gangs of New YorkSucceeded by
Bill Murray
for Lost in TranslationPreceded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of ScotlandBest Actor
2007
for There Will Be BloodSucceeded by
TBA National Board of Review AwardPreceded by
Klaus Maria Brandauer
for Out of Africa Best Supporting Actor
1986
for My Beautiful Laundrette; A Room with a ViewSucceeded by
Sean Connery
for The Untouchables Screen Actors Guild AwardPreceded by
Russell Crowe
for A Beautiful Mind Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
2002
for Gangs of New YorkSucceeded by
Johnny Depp
for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearlPreceded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of ScotlandOutstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
2007
for There Will Be BloodSucceeded by
TBD Golden Globe AwardPreceded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of Scotland Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2007
for There Will Be BloodSucceeded by
TBA

References

^ a b Herschberg, Lynn. The New Frontier's Man. New York Times Magazine. 11 November 2007.
^ Daniel, old chap, sure you're one of our own - Martina Devlin, Columnists - Independent.ie
^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Day-Lewis heads UK Oscars charge
^ "Day-Lewis gets Oscar nod for new film", Kent News, 2007-12-17. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
^ Pearlman, Cindy. "Day-Lewis isn't suffering: 'It's a joy'", Chicago Sun-Times, 2007-12-30. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
^ a b c d Segal, David. Daniel Day-Lewis, Behaving Totally In Character. The Washington Post, 31 March 2005.
^ Corliss, Richard. Daniel Gets His Day. reprint of Time, European Edition article, 21 March 1994.
^ a b Jenkins, Garry. Daniel Day-Lewis: The Fires Within. St. Martin's Press, 1994. ASIN B000R9II4O.
^ a b c d e f g h Wills, Dominic. Extensive Biography of Daniel Day-Lewis. Tiscali UK. Retrieved 25 February 2006.
^ An Inspirational Journey: The Making of My Left Foot. DVD. Miramax Films, 2005.
^ New York Times Biography. New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2006.
^ Fleming, Michael and Mohr, Ian. There Will Be Blood announcement. Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2006.
^ http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=28505, broadwayworld.com 1 june 2008
^ Daniel Day-Lewis Q&A. Time Out London. Retrieved 27 March 2008.

External links

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Actor

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Complete List · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Actor

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Complete List · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)

PersondataNAME Day-Lewis, Daniel ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION British actor DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1957 PLACE OF BIRTH London, England DATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH