Daniel Day-Lewis

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Date of Birth : Apr 29th 1957

Academy-Award winning and Golden Globe-award nominated actor. Born in London, England, he became an Irish citizen in 1993.

After studying at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Daniel Day-Lewis performed in numerous stage plays and films that gained him an Academy Award, two BAFTA awards, and four Golden Globe nominations. In the midst of his career, he has become known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, starring in only four movies in the last ten years. He has also been acknowledged for his constant devotion to his roles and copious amounts of research he performs. Often he will remain in character and speak in the accents he has used on screen throughout the entire shooting schedule.

Playing a severely paralyzed character onscreen, offscreen Day-Lewis had to be wheeled around the set in his wheelchair, and crew members would curse at having to lift him over camera and lighting wires, all so that he might gain insight into all aspects of Christy Brown’s life, including the embarrassments. He also broke two ribs during filming from assuming a hunched-over position in his wheelchair for so many weeks.

Daniel Day-Lewis returned to the stage to work with Richard Eyre, as Hamlet at the National Theatre, but collapsed in the middle of a scene where the ghost of Hamlet’s father first appears to his son. He began sobbing uncontrollably and refused to go back on stage; his understudy (a then unknown Jeremy Northam) finished what little was left of the production’s run. One rumour following the incident was that Day-Lewis had seen the ghost of his own father, although the incident was officially attributed to exhaustion. He confirmed on the top British celebrity chat show ‘Parkinson’ on ITV that this rumour was true. He has not appeared on stage since.