Daniel Day-Lewis at the premiere of ‘Anemone’. Photo: Focus Features.
Daniel Day-Lewis is widely considered the greatest living actor!
He has been awarded three Academy Awards for Best Actor for his work in ‘My Left Foot‘, ‘There Will Be Blood‘ and ‘Lincoln‘, which is more than any other male actor in history!
Day-Lewis returns to the big screen on October 3rd in his latest film called ‘Anemone‘, which he co-wrote with his son Ronan Day-Lewis, who also makes his directorial debut.
Release Date: Oct 10, 2025
Run Time: 2 hr 5 min
In honor of the new film, Moviefone is counting down the 10 best Daniel Day-Lewis Performances of all time.
10. Guido Contini in ‘Nine‘ (2009)
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in ‘Nine’. Photo: The Weinstein Company.
Arrogant, self-centered movie director Guido Contini (Lewis) finds himself struggling to find meaning, purpose, and a script for his latest film endeavor. With only a week left before shooting begins, he desperately searches for answers and inspiration from his wife, his mistress, his muse, and his mother.
“This holiday season, be Italian.”
Release Date: Dec 25, 2009
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min
Budget: $80,000,000
9. Newland Archer in ‘The Age of Innocence‘ (1993)
(L to R) Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer stars in ‘The Age of Innocence’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer (Lewis) falls in love with a woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman’s cousin (Winona Ryder).
“In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules.”
Release Date: Oct 1, 1993
Run Time: 2 hr 19 min
Budget: $34,000,000
8. Reynolds Woodcock in ‘Phantom Thread‘ (2018)
Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Phantom Thread’. Photo: Focus Features.
In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker’s (Lewis) meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse (Vicky Kreps) intensifies.
“Whatever you do, do it carefully.”
Release Date: Jan 19, 2018
Run Time: 2 hr 10 min
Budget: $35,000,000
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in ‘My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown’. Photo: Palace Pictures.
No one expects much from Christy Brown (Lewis), a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother — and no shortage of grit and determination — Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.
“A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle.”
Release Date: Nov 10, 1989
Run Time: 1 hr 43 min
Budget: $645,180
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in ‘The Last of the Mohicans’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
In war-torn colonial America, in the midst of a bloody battle between British, the French and Native American allies, the aristocratic daughter of a British Colonel and her party are captured by a group of Huron warriors. Fortunately, a group of three Mohican trappers comes to their rescue.
“An epic adventure and passionate romance unfold against the panorama of a frontier wilderness ravaged by war.”
Release Date: Sep 25, 1992
Run Time: 1 hr 52 min
Budget: $40,000,000
5. Danny Flynn in ‘The Boxer‘ (1997)
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in ‘The Boxer’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn (Lewis) is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill (Emily Watson). Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer.
“Love is always worth fighting for.”
Release Date: Dec 31, 1997
Run Time: 1 hr 54 min
(L to R) Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson stars in ‘In The Name of The Father’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
A small-time Belfast thief, Gerry Conlon (Lewis), is wrongly convicted of an IRA bombing in London, along with his father (Pete Postlethwaite) and friends, and spends 15 years in prison fighting to prove his innocence.
“In the name of truth… In the name of justice… In the name of love.”
Release Date: Dec 12, 1993
Run Time: 2 hr 13 min
Budget: $13,000,000
3. Bill “the Butcher” Cutting in ‘Gangs of New York‘ (2002)
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in ‘Gangs of New York’. Photo: Miramax Films.
In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father’s killer, William Cutting (Lewis), a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting’s inner circle. Vallon’s journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people.
“America was born in the streets.”
Release Date: Dec 19, 2002
Run Time: 2 hr 48 min
Budget: $100,000,000
2. Abraham Lincoln in ‘Lincoln‘ (2012)
Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Lincoln.’ Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
The revealing story of the 16th US President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln (Lewis) pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
Release Date: Nov 16, 2012
Run Time: 2 hr 29 min
Budget: $65,000,000
Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘There Will Be Blood’. Photo: Paramount Vantage.
Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview (Lewis), moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) suspects Plainview’s motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.
“There will be greed. There will be vengeance.”
Release Date: Jan 25, 2008
Run Time: 2 hr 38 min
Budget: $25,000,000
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