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Daniel Day-Lewis -

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis was born on April 29, 1957, in Kensington, London, into a creative family.

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Family -

His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was a writer who was appointed England's Poet Laureate for the last four years of his life. His mother, Jill Balcon, was an actress. His older sister Tamasin is a television chef and food critic. The family is pictured at home in 1967.

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Early years -

By all accounts, young Daniel was a bit of a tearaway in the classroom, his behavior so wild that his parents packed him off to a private school. While initially drifting towards woodworking and craftsmanship, he was later drawn to acting, eventually studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

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'The Bounty' (1984) -

Daniel Day-Lewis made his screen debut at 14 in 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' (1971), in which he played a vandal in an uncredited role. A number of stage appearances led to him being offered a bit part in Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi' in 1982. Two years later he was cast in 'The Bounty' alongside the likes of Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, and Liam Neeson.

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'My Beautiful Laundrette' (1985) -

Day-Lewis made an impression in his next film, 'My Beautiful Laundrette,' as a street punk named Johnny who co-runs a South London launderette with an old school friend (and eventual lover), who is a young Pakistani man called Omar (Gordon Warnecke).

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'A Room with a View' (1985) -

Day-Lewis' career started to take off with his acclaimed role in 'A Room with a View.' The film, based on E. M. Forster's 1908 novel of the same name, also marked the big screen debut of Helena Bonham Carter.

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'Nanou' (1986) -

In a move that would characterize the remainder of the actor's career, Day-Lewis then chose to appear in a low-key production, a drama called 'Nanou.' The Franco-British feature stars English actress Imogen Stubbs and Jean-Philippe Écoffey, and is largely forgotten.

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'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' (1988) -

'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' saw Day-Lewis in his first leading role, that of Tomas playing opposite Juliet Binoche's Tereza. The film is set in Czechoslovakia in 1968 during the Prague Spring. Over the eight-month shoot, the actor chose to stay in character—another idiosyncratic trait Day-Lewis would become notorious for.

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'Hamlet' (1989) -

Throughout the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, Day-Lewis divided screen time with that of stage appearances. His last theatrical role was in the National Theatre's production of 'Hamlet' in 1989 playing opposite Judi Dench.

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'My Left Foot' (1989) -

Day-Lewis stunned cinema audiences with his portrayal of Irish writer and painter Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy and was able to write or type only with the toes of one foot. The actor insisted on staying in character throughout the shoot, which meant staying in a wheelchair and being fed by members of the crew. A critical and commercial success, 'My Left Foot' won Day-Lewis his first Academy Award for Best Actor.

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First Oscar win -

Day-Lewis with his Oscar awarded for his performance in 'My Left Foot.' As well as a BAFTA, he also secured a slew of additional accolades and a host of nominations. The actor had set his bar high.

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'The Last of the Mohicans' (1992) -

In typical fashion, Day-Lewis' next movie was an obscure art-house venture, the Argentine-British production 'Eversmile, New Jersey.' In 1992, however, he returned to Hollywood to appear in Michael Mann's well-received epic historical drama 'The Last of the Mohicans.'

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'The Age of Innocence' (1993) -

Set in 19th-century New York, Martin Scorsese's 'The Age of Innocence' sees Day-Lewis' wealthy attorney fall in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin. Critically acclaimed, the historical romantic drama also did well at the box office.

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'In the Name of the Father' (1993) -

Daniel Day-Lewis received his second Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Gerry Conlan in this acclaimed biographic crime drama. Conlan was one of four people (the Guilford Four) falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings, which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. The Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility for the atrocity.

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'The Crucible' (1996) -

A critical success though underwhelming at the box office, 'The Crucible' is noted for the fact that while on set, Day-Lewis met Rebecca Miller, the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, who penned the play of the same title in 1953 and wrote the film's screenplay.

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Marriage to Rebecca Miller -

Before he met Rebecca Miller, Daniel Day-Lewis had been in a relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani that lasted six years, from 1989 to 1995. Together they had a son, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis. He married Rebecca Miller on November 13, 1996. The couple have two sons, Ronan Cal Day-Lewis and Cashel Blake Day-Lewis. Miller and Day-Lewis divide their time between their homes in Ireland and Manhattan, New York.

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'The Boxer' (1997) -

In preparation for his next role, Day-Lewis trained as a boxer in Ireland for a year. Reviews of 'The Boxer' were generally positive, with the actor picking up a Golden Globe nomination for his efforts. Following the film's release, Day-Lewis took a leave of absence from acting and moved to Italy to become an apprentice shoemaker. His semi-retirement took him out of the celebrity limelight for five years.

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'Gangs of New York' (2002) -

The actor was lured back to Hollywood by Martin Scorsese, who cast Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the much-lauded 'Gangs of New York.' Once again he turned in a sterling performance, receiving a further Oscar nod.

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'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' (2005) -

And once again Day-Lewis followed a high-profile award-winning role with a modest and restrained performance in a deliberately understated movie, this time as an environmentalist who lives with his daughter on a secluded island commune. Written and directed by Day-Lewis' wife Rebecca Miller, 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' divided audiences and critics alike.

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'There Will Be Blood' (2007) -

The actor spent two years preparing for his next role, this time as ruthless 1880's prospector Daniel Plainview. His performance was absolutely stunning and deserving of all five major film awards bestowed upon him, including a second Academy Award for Best Actor.

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Second Oscar win -

Day-Lewis clutches his Oscar for 'There Will Be Blood.' The actor also took home a BAFTA, Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award.

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'Nine' (2009) -

After a two-year hiatus, Day-Lewis appeared in 'Nine' as part of an ensemble cast that included Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Sophia Loren. The film, a loose remake of the Fellini classic ' 8½,' puzzled critics and was a commercial failure.

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'Lincoln' (2012) -

Many regard 'Lincoln' as Daniel Day-Lewis' finest moment. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film covers the final four months of President Abraham Lincoln's life. In typical style, the actor won all five major film awards for one performance.

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Third Oscar win -

His third Academy Award for 'Lincoln' makes Daniel Day-Lewis so far the only actor in cinema history to thrice win the Oscar for Best Actor.

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Sir Daniel Day-Lewis -

On November 14, 2014, Daniel Day-Lewis was knighted for his services to drama. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge conducted the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London.

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'Phantom Thread' (2017) -

The actor's final film role to date is 'Phantom Thread,' a period drama about the London fashion world. Shortly after its completion, Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting, but not before collecting a raft of nominations for his performance, including for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

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Retirement -

When asked why he retired during a 2017 interview with Variety, Daniel Day-Lewis simply stated that he "didn't want to get sucked back into another project..." and that "the impulse to quit took root in me." Some speculate that he'll return to acting someday, but Day-Lewis did not seem open to the idea, explaining that he just wanted to draw a line under his career.

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Life after cinema -

The paparazzi occasionally catch up with the reluctant star. In this 2018 snap, Daniel Day-Lewis is photographed sitting alone enjoying a bite to eat on a park bench in Manhattan, New York City. 

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Reclusive -

The following year, again in New York, the former actor was photographed greeting a friend.

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Away from the limelight -

Also in 2019, Daniel Day-Lewis was spotted taking a solo stroll in Manhattan, seemingly ignored by the public. 

Sources: (TheThings) (IrishCentral) (Variety) 

See also: Reclusive celebs who live a private life

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