Intense and chameleonlike, Day-Lewis first gained international notice for a pair of drastically different portrayals in two 1985 British features: his tough yet touching Johnny, a South London street punk, who transgresses by loving a middleclass Pakistani school chum in Stephen Frears's MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE; and the less appealing Cecil Vyse, a priggish, bookish fop, whose love is rejected by Helena Bonham Carter in Merchant/Ivory's A ROOM WITH A VIEW. Viewed individually, each is an impressive supporting performance; viewed together, they demonstrate the remarkable versatility of the performer.
Day-Lewis trained at the Bristol Old Vic, which he joined as an ensemble member, and appeared in works by Shakespeare, Farquhar and Marlowe. In 1982, Day-Lewis went on to assume the lead role in Another Country, which ran for nine months. He also snared a bit part in Richard Attenborough's GANDHI. Alternating between theater and film, he toured as Romeo in an RSC production of Romeo and Juliet, then played a sailor who remains loyal to Anthony Hopkins's Captain Bligh in THE BOUNTY (1984).
Day-Lewis secured leading man status in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988) with his portrayal of the ambiguously shaded Tomas, a womanizing surgeon caught up in the Soviet occupation of Prague. For MY LEFT FOOT (1989), he won a Best Actor Oscar® for his realistic, unsentimental rendering of quadriplegic Irish artist Christy Brown.
After starring in the National Theater production of Hamlet (1989), a surprisingly muscular Day-Lewis returned to the screen as the ax-and-flintlock-wielding Hawkeye in Michael Mann's popular adaptation of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992). Ever restless, he returned to the drawing room and the opera box for Martin Scorsese's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993). Day-Lewis then reunited with MY LEFT FOOT director Jim Sheridan to star in IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (1993), earning an Oscar nomination for his intense portrayal of Gerry Conlon, the Irish loyalist who was wrongly accused and imprisoned -- along with his father and other members of the group that became known as "The Guildford Four" -- for the IRA bombing of a British pub.
Other notable credits include THE BOUNTY (1984), NANOU (1986), STARS AND BARS (1988), EVERSMILE, NEW JERSEY (1989), THE CRUCIBLE (1996), THE BOXER (1997), GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002), THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE (2005), and THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007).
Day-Lewis assumed Irish citizenship and moved to County Wicklow, Ireland in 1993. He had a relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani from 1989 to 1994. In 1996, he married actress Rebecca Miller. They have 2 children.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1989: MY LEFT FOOT
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1993: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 2002: GANGS OF NEW YORK
Best Leading Actor 2007: THERE WILL BE BLOOD
4 nominations, 2 Awards