Topic: Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for There Will Be Blood. His role as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002) earned him the BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Day-Lewis, who grew up in London, is the son of actress Jill Balcon and the Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis. 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, even to the point of adversely affecting his health. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only five films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles.

Day-Lewis was born in London, the son of British actress Jill Balcon and Anglo-Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis. His father had lived mainly in England from the age of two and later became the United Kingdom's Poet Laureate. His mother's family was Jewish and originated in the Baltics. His maternal grandfather, Sir Michael Balcon, was the head of Ealing Studios. Two years after his birth, the family moved to Croom's Hill, Greenwich, where Day-Lewis grew up along with his older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, who became a documentary filmmaker and television chef.