Daniel Day-Lewis Brief Biography

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. Day-Lewis, who grew up in London, is the son of actress Jill Balcon and Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis. Despite his training in the classical presentational acting style at the Bristol Old Vic, 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, even to the point of adversely affecting his health. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only six films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles.

He has twice won the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007). He also won the BAFTA and the Screen Actors' Guild Award for his role as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002). Most recently, he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for his role as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012), for which he is also currently nominated for the BAFTA and for the Academy Award. Should Day-Lewis win the Academy Award for Lincoln, he will make history by becoming the first actor to win three Academy Awards in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category.

Daniel Day-Lewis News

• Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz join Spielberg on Cannes jury
• 'Lincoln' tops the DVD sales chart, 'Argo' top rental
• 'Django Unchained' and 'Ted' land 7 MTV Movie nods each