Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the preeminent actors of his generation. In a career that spanned just 22 films over 45 years, Day-Lewis won the Academy Award for Best Actor on three separate occasions, the only performer to date to achieve such an accolade. Yet at the height of his fame, he announced his retirement from acting in June 2017. He had retired before, from 1997 to 2000, when he took up a new profession as an apprentice shoemaker in Italy. This time, he returned to acting in 2025 with a new movie he co-wrote. Always protective of his privacy, the actor has kept a low profile, turning up only occasionally in paparazzi snaps and usually seen alone.
So, who is Daniel Day-Lewis? Click through and catch up on the life and career of one of cinema's most enigmatic characters.