Sir Daniel Day-Lewis is one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, there’s no question. But you might be surprised to learn that there is a lot more to him; from his high-brow upbringing and his famous relatives, to the extent of his devotion to acting, here are ten facts you might not have released about the star.
Daniel Day-Lewis at the BAFTAs
1. His father was Cecil Day-Lewis – He was actually the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968, but he died in 1972 when Daniel was just 15-years-old. You might also know Cecil as Nicholas Blake; his pseudonym under which he wrote a series of mystery stories.
2. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon – Daniel and his father are not the family’s only claims to fame; Sir Michael Balcon was the head of Ealing Studios and an important figure in the UK film industry. There’s even a City of Westminster plaque citing his name on his old London home.
3. He went to Bedales – It’s no surprise with such a prestigious family background that Daniel Day-Lewis would go on to attend one of Britain’s most expensive private schools; an institution well known for its relaxed and creative ethos and a place that Daniel grew to love. Famous alumni include Lily Allen, Cara Delevingne and Juno Temple among others.
4. He learned Czech for ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ – Whether or not the language stuck with him remains to be seen, but he was eager to delve deep into his lothario character Tomas for the adaptation of the 1985 war novel in which he starred opposite Juliette Binoche.
5. He got well into character for ‘My Left Foot’ – If you thought learning Czech was extreme, he made the crew of this movie spoon-feed and carry him, as well as push him around in a wheelchair even when they weren’t filming. In fact, he was so into method acting, that he generally stayed in character as much as possible between takes during the whole filming period of every film he’s been in.
6. He has won three Academy Awards – He was actually the first ever person to bag three Best Actor Oscars despite having a filmography shorter than most for his age. He holds the award for the movies ‘Lincoln’ (2012), ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007) and ‘My Left Foot’ (1989). He has also been nominated for ‘Gangs of New York’ and ‘In the Name of the Father’.
7. He turned down ‘Lord of the Rings’ role – He was actually asked to play Aragorn aka Strider in Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy more than once but refused, so the director had to go with his second choice of Viggo Mortensen. Maybe it was a good decision on Daniel’s part because we can’t see anyone else in that role now.
8. He is married to Rebecca Miller – He’s continuing the legacy of having a family of legends on both sides by being the husband of the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, a man best known for writing ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘The Crucible’ and also happened to have once been married to Marilyn Monroe.
9. He supports Millwall – It might seem unusual for a man of such a high-class background to support a football club with one of the worst reputations in the UK, but there you go. He actually loved football and the whole experience of being amongst the rougher parts of society when he was younger.
More: Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring
10. He’s quitting acting – If you hadn’t already read it in the news, ‘Phantom Thread’ is poised to be Daniel Day-Lewis’ final acting venture. He’s spoken of retirement for many years, and we suppose we should have seen it coming given how selective he has been with roles throughout the years, but he insists that he’s moving on to other things after the film’s release.
