Top Five - Daniel Day-Lewis

The reason I rarely write these blogs is because it is rare for me to be able to say that I have seem a large majority of one particular actor’s filmography. Really think about it now, is there an actor that you can say hand on heart that you have seen in every one of their most famous films? Without further rambling here is my top five list of Daniel Day-Lewis performances.

‘Thank God. I die a true American.’

Daniel Day-Lewis as "The Butcher"
2003 (d. Martin Scorsese)

With Day-Lewis essentially playing a supporting character in this film it could have been so easy for any other actor to be overshadowed by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2002’s Gangs of New York (d. Martin Scorsese). But Day-Lewis’ Bill “The Butcher” is the most memorable and remarkable performance in the film. Such a menacing and ominous villain: The Butcher is a character who’s presence is felt throughout the film whether he is on screen or not.

‘I didn't ask for a fucking psychological lecture. I only asked for a fucking light.’

Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown
1989 (d. Jim Sheridan)

Day-Lewis’ breakout role in My Left Foot was a performance that left the Academy absolutely gobsmacked. The fact that one actor can give such a convincing performance of a disabled man was so astounding to the Academy they gave him Best Actor on his first ever footstep into Hollywood (excuse the pun). The authenticity of cerebral palsy sufferer Christy Brown was a performance from Day-Lewis like non other ever put to film.

‘Shall we stop this bleeding?’

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln
2012 (d. Steven Spielberg)

Having been begged by Spielberg for years to take the role Day-Lewis accepted the huge weight of Abraham Lincoln and delivered a very clever and collected performance. The Lincoln shown in this film was the most realistic and well executed portrayal ever. While other actors in the role portrayed the legendary President as a revolutionary (almost) god-like leader, Day-Lewis took a step back from this generic idea and played Lincoln as an intelligent analytical human being who just wanted change. The effect is an absolutely mesmerising performance that completely embodies everything Lincoln was and stood for. Day-Lewis’ Lincoln stood hat, head and shoulders above all other interpretations of the renowned figure.

‘I'm a free man, and I'm going out the front door.’

Pete Postlethwaite & Daniel Day-Lewis
 as
Gerry & Guiseppe Conlon
1993 (d. Jim Sheridan)

In the Name of the Father’s Gerry Conlon (a man falsely imprisoned on suspicion of being an IRA terrorist) is portrayed as a reckless junkie type that has no interest in having a relationship with his father. The real life person of Conlon is one that Day-Lewis clearly understood and valued greatly. The reason this role is perhaps higher on my list than expected is simple. The portrayal of the father-son relationship between Day-Lewis and the late Pete Postlethwaite is one of the most believable and honest stories of this type ever put to film. The chemistry they share on screen is absolutely incredible and it is clear that these two actors had a colossal respect for one another.

'I drink your milkshake!'

Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview
2007 (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)

There Will Be Blood is the story of an oil prospector who slowly falls from grace into a frenzy of greed and insanity. This is my favourite performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. A character that falls from grace so hard over the cause of a film is difficult to portray accurately because of how complex the character must be. Day-Lewis didn’t hold back in throwing himself into this material as he plays a person that loses all sense of what is right and what is wrong. There is a scene in particular where Daniel Plainview has himself baptised in order to buy a piece of land from a suspicious cowboy. In that scene there is some of the best acting in not only Day-Lewis' career, but any actor's career.

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