Daniel Day-Lewis: Biography
Day-Lewis' highly cerebral approach to his work may emanate in part from his background. Born in London on April 29, 1957, he was the son of Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon. The influence of the cinema was particularly strong on his mother's side: she was the daughter of Sir Michael Balcon, the one-time head of Ealing Studios. Educated at various public schools, Day-Lewis took an early interest in acting. After dropping out of school at the age of thirteen, he managed to get a small part in John Schlesinger's Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971). Following his debut, he decided to focus on his theatrical training, which he received at the Bristol Old Vic. He acted with that theatre and with the Royal Shakespeare Company for the rest of the decade, and in 1982 he made his second film appearance, playing a street thug in Gandhi.
Daniel Day-Lewis: Career
The grandson of a British movie tycoon and the son of a poet laureate, Daniel Day-Lewis is a leading man of stage and screen known for his range and intensity in movies such as My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), The Last of the Mohicans (1992) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). After a successful career on the British stage, he appeared in supporting roles in Gandhi (1982) and The Bounty (1984, with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins) before moving into leading roles. He won an Oscar for his performance in My Left Foot (1989) and was nominated for another for In the Name of the Father (1993), but took time off from the movies to perform on stage. After another critically-praised performance in The Boxer (1997) he took another break from the movies; gossip sheets reported that he had worked as a cobbler in Italy before Martin Scorsese talked him appearing on screen again in Gangs of New York (2002, with Leonardo DiCaprio), but Day-Lewis has not commented publicly on the story.
Daniel Day-Lewis: Films
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), Gangs of New York (2002), The Boxer (1997), The Crucible (1996), In the Name of the Father (1993), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Eversmile New Jersey (1991), My Left Foot (1989), Stars & Bars (1988), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), My Beautiful Laundrette (1986), A Room With A View (1986), The Bounty (1984), How Many Miles to Babylon? (1982)