Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis was born in London, England, the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, a significant figure in British cinema and former head of Ealing Studios. His older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, is a documentarian. His father was of Northern Irish and English descent, while his mother was Jewish, with ancestry from Latvia and Poland. Daniel attended Sevenoaks School in Kent, which he disliked, and later the more progressive Bedales in Petersfield, which he preferred. He studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic School. Day-Lewis made his film debut in *Sunday Bloody Sunday* (1971), but then focused on stage work with the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Companies, not appearing on screen again until 1982, when he took his first adult role in a small part in *Gandhi* (1982). He also appeared on British television in *Frost in May* (1982) and *How Many Miles to Babylon?* (1982). Notable stage 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), followed by *My Beautiful Laundrette* (1985) and *A Room with a View* (1986). The latter two films premiered in New York on the same day, showcasing his 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 *The Insurance Man* (1986). He also had a small role in the British/French film *Nanou* (1986). In 1987, he took on a leading role in *The Unbearable Lightness of Being* (1988), directed by Philip Kaufman, followed by a comedic role in the unsuccessful *Stars and Bars* (1988). His performance as Christy Brown in *My Left Foot* (1989), directed by Jim Sheridan, earned him numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. He returned to the stage to work with Eyre again in *Hamlet* at the National Theatre but had to leave the production near the end due to exhaustion and has not appeared on stage since. He also took a break from film until 1992, when he starred in *The Last of the Mohicans* (1992), a film that received mixed reviews but was a box office success. He worked with American director Martin Scorsese in *The Age of Innocence* (1993), based on Edith Wharton's novel. He later reunited with Jim Sheridan in *In the Name of the Father* (1993), a performance that earned him another Academy Award nomination. His next role was as John Proctor in *The Crucible* (1996), Arthur Miller's play directed by Nicholas Hytner. He worked with Scorsese again in *Gangs of New York* (2002), a performance that earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Day-Lewis's wife, Rebecca Miller, gave him the lead role in her film *The Ballad of Jack and Rose* (2005), in which he played a dying man reflecting on his regrets regarding his wife and teenage daughter. During filming, he lived separately from his wife to achieve the "isolation" needed to focus on his character. The film received mixed reviews. In 2007, he starred in director Paul Thomas Anderson's loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair's *Oil!*, titled *There Will Be Blood* (2007). For this role, Day-Lewis received the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, and several film critics' circle awards. In 2009, he appeared in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation *Nine* (2009) as film director Guido Contini. He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.