Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April, 1957) is an Academy Award-, triple BAFTA-, double Screen Actors Guild- and Golden Globe award-winning British-born actor with dual British and Irish citizenship. Day-Lewis studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and is known for his famous portrayals of William "Bill The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York and Gerry Conlon in In The Name Of The Father. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for portraying the murderous Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood and Christy Brown for My Left Foot, with a further two nominations. He has become known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only four movies in the last ten years. Herschberg, Lynn. The New Frontier's Man. New York Times Magazine. 11 November 2007. 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.

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis was born in London, England, the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis (Poet Laureate of England) and his second wife, Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema, head of the famous Ealing Studios. His older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, is a documentary filmmaker. Daniel was educated at Sevenoaks School in Kent, which he despised, and the more progressive Bedales in Petersfield, which he adored. He studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic School. Daniel made his film debut in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), but then acted on stage with the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Companies and did not appear on screen again until 1982, when he landed his first adult role, a bit part in Gandhi (1982). He also appeared on British TV that year in _Frost in May (1982) (TV)_ and How Many Miles to Babylon? (1982) (TV). Notable theatrical performances include "Another, Country" (1982-83), "Dracula" (1984), and the "Futurists" (1986). His first major supporting role in a feature film was in Bounty, The (1984), quickly followed by My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and Room with a View, A (1985). The latter two films opened in New York on the same day, offering audiences and critics evidence of his remarkable range and establishing him as a major talent. The New York Film Critics named him the "Best Supporting Actor" for those performances. In 1986 he appeared on stage in Richard Eyre (I)'s "Futurists" and on television in Eyre's production of Insurance Man, The (1986) (TV). He also had a small role in a British/French film, Nanou (1986). In 1987 he assumed leading-man status in Philip Kaufman (I)'s Unbearable Lightness of Being, The (1988), followed by a comedic role in the unsuccessful Stars and Bars (1988). His brilliant performance as Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan (I)'s _My Left Foot (1989)_ won him numerous awards, including The Academy Award for best actor. He returned to the stage to work again with Eyre, as Hamlet at the National Theater, but was forced to leave the production close to the end of its run because of exhaustion, and has not appeared on stage since. He took a hiatus from film as well until 1992, when he starred in Last of the Mohicans, The (1992), a film that met with mixed reviews but was a great success at the box office. He worked with American director Martin Scorsese in Age of Innocence, The (1993) in 1994. Subsequently, he teamed again with Jim Sheridan to star in In the Name of the Father (1993), a critically acclaimed performance that earned him another Academy Award nomination. His next project was in the role of John Proctor in Arthur Miller (I)'s play Crucible, The (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner.