Daniel Day-Lewis is 64 years old today.
An English actor, holding both British and Irish citizenship, Day-Lewis was born and raised in London. He excelled on stage at the National Youth Theatre, before being accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which he attended for three years.
Despite his traditional actor training at the Bristol Old Vic, he is considered to be a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. He often remains completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedules of his films, even to the point of adversely affecting his health.
He is one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only five films since 1998, with as many as five years between roles.
Day-Lewis is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation and has earned numerous awards, including three Academy Awards for Best Actor for his portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) and Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012).
Day-Lewis is the only male actor in history to have three wins in the lead actor category and one of only three male actors to win three Oscars (the other two being Walter Brennan and Jack Nicholson). He has also won four BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In June, 2014, he received a knighthood for services to drama.
Day-Lewis last returned to the screen to star in Paul Thomas Anderson's historical drama Phantom Thread in December, 2017. Set in 1950s London, Day-Lewis played obsessive dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock, who falls in love with a waitress, played by Vicky Krieps.
Prior to the film's release, Day-Lewis' spokeswoman, Leslee Dart, announced that he was retiring from acting. Unable to give an exact reason for his decision, in a November, 2017 interview Day-Lewis stated, "I haven't figured it out. But it's settled on me, and it’s just there…I dread to use the overused word 'artist,' but there's something of the responsibility of the artist that hung over me. I need to believe in the value of what I’m doing. The work can seem vital. Irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn't.”