Which movies won Daniel Day-Lewis his Oscars?
Few actors have been as unanimously acclaimed by critics and movie lovers alike as Daniel Day-Lewis. Born in London, the actor first appeared on the big screen when he was just 14 after landing a role as an uncredited extra in Sunday Bloody Sunday, but wasn’t until the 1980s that he began frequently appearing in movies, television productions, and on stage.
Breaking through with a role in My Beautiful Laundrette, a powerful British film about race, class, and sexuality, Day-Lewis soon appeared in more acclaimed projects, like James Ivory’s A Room with a View and Philip Kaufman’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, alongside Juliette Binoche.
He then closed the decade with a performance that would expose him to even more acclaim, playing Christy Brown, a man with cerebral palsy, in My Left Foot. The movie saw him properly commit to method acting for the first time, something he built up a reputation for over the course of his career.
From there, Day-Lewis appeared in more successful movies, rarely appearing in a movie that wasn’t widely heralded. From The Last of the Mohicans to In The Name of the Father to The Age of Innocence, the actor didn’t appear in as many movies during the 1990s as someone like Tom Hanks, but he didn’t need to.
With each considered performance, Day-Lewis proved he could truly metamorphosize and embody whoever was thrown his way. The 2000s saw him star in films like Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood before he transformed into the 16th President of the United States for 2012’s Lincoln. Over the course of his career, he has garnered plenty of praise as a result of his nuanced performances, picking up three Oscars for ‘Best Actor’.
So, which movies won Daniel Day-Lewis his Oscars?
The actor was first nominated in 1989 for My Left Foot, in which he emerged victorious. The movie required him to portray a man who only had use of his left foot, which he used to write and paint. Day-Lewis often stayed in character while the cameras weren’t rolling, getting crew members to feed him, carry him, or push him in a wheelchair. This garnered considerable controversy, but clearly, his approach paid off.
He was then nominated for In the Name of the Father and Gangs of New York, both of which he lost out on. However, his next two nominations, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, both earned him ‘Best Actor’ wins. Proving himself to be terrific at playing characters in period dramas, Day-Lewis was then nominated again for the 1950s-era Phantom Thread, although he sadly lost out to Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour.
…and is Daniel Day-Lewis now retired?
Day-Lewis decided to bow out his career with a performance in Phantom Thread, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Having previously worked with the filmmaker on There Will Be Blood, the actor knew he was in safe hands and subsequently delivered a career-defining performance as the snobbish and particular fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock.
The movie was released in 2017 and marked Day-Lewis’ supposed retirement from acting. However, in 2024, he was spotted filming a new movie, Anemone, directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. Whether he’s just lending a helping hand to his son or will actually be returning to acting for the long haul is currently unknown.
