An English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for There Will Be Blood. His role as Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002) earned him the BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He is the son of actress Jill Balcon and the Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis. He is a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. Often, he will remain completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedule of his films, even to the point of adversely affecting his health. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only five films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles.