Born:
April 29, 1957
in
London
Best Known For:
His Oscar-winning roles in My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln.
Early-life:
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis was born in London, on April 29, 1957. He's the son of poet Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon. His sister, Tamasin, has hosted her own TV cookery show. His grandfather, Michael Balcon, was the head of the famous Ealing Studios. Daniel was educated at private schools Sevenoaks and Bedales. His film debut was as a teen vandal in 1971's Sunday Bloody Sunday. He was turned down for a cabinet-maker's apprenticeship before he started studying acting at the Bristol Old Vic School.
Career:
Day-Lewis concentrated on theatre work with the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Company. He had a small role in the movie Gandhi in 1982. He followed it with The Bounty (1984), My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and A Room with a View (1985). The Unbearable Lightness of Being turned him into a sex symbol in 1988. A year later he won an Oscar for My Left Foot. The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993) and The Crucible (1996) were also successful. Day-Lewis then took a five-year break from acting, before returning in 2002's Gangs of New York. He's since made The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), and won Oscars for There Will Be Blood (2007) and Lincoln (2012).
Quote:
"I suppose I have a highly developed capacity for self-delusion, so it's no problem for me to believe I'm somebody else."
Trivia:
He holds British and Irish citizenship.