Often heralded as the greatest working actor of his generation,Daniel Day-Lewisearned three Oscar wins and a further three nominations over the course of his career. In 2014, he even received a knighthood for his acting work. He started working in the 1970s, with his first small roles coming from TV movies and shows. This pattern started to change as a result of performances in the likes ofGandhi,My Beautiful Laundrette, andA Room with a View. By 1990, Day-Lewis won his first Oscar, which was awarded to him for his leading role inMy Left Foot, the true story of Christy Brown, a man who learned to paint using only his foot.
In 1997, Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting, choosing instead to become a shoemaker in Italy, however, this was short-lived, as we now know. His return to acting produced some incredibly fruitful years of work that featured some of his best performances — as well as some outlying duds. 20 years after his original retirement, he once again announced that he would no longer be acting in 2017. This time, we will have to wait and see if it’s permanent. As an actor who chooses his roles carefully, Day-Lewis' final 10 movies cover three different decades. Here they all are, ranked.
10Nine (2009)
The lowest-ranking movie in Daniel Day-Lewis’ final 10 roles isNine, a musical that stands out from his filmography in several ways. Its story follows Day-Lewis as Guido, a movie director who finds his career destroying his personal life and relationships with the women in his life. These women are played by powerhouses such as Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, and Marion Cotillard.
In comparison with Day Lewis’ largely subdued body of work, such a busy movie stands as an interesting outlier. However, despite its star power, the movie itself falls flat. The musical numbers don’t add much to the narrative, instead serving as further distraction on-screen. While it’s entertaining, it doesn’t stand a chance against the rest of Day Lewis’ sturdy filmography.
The Ballad of Jack and Rosemight appear as the complete opposite ofNine, but the movies suffer from similar problems. While this movie is on the opposite end of the tonal spectrum from a vibrant musical, it still manages to be heavy-handed in its delivery.
Here, Day-Lewis plays Jack, and Rose, his daughter, is played by Camilla Belle. They live an isolated life together, but this has to change when Jack realizes he might not have long left to live and invites his girlfriend and her sons to live with them. It has its high points and conveys the stifling effect of isolation well but also beats the point into the ground after a certain point.
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8The Crucible (1996)
This adaptation ofThe Cruciblehas a screenplay written by the play’s original writer, Arthur Miller, and as a result of this, holds up well against the source material. The story is set in Salem, during the witch trials, and finds a woman falsely accusing the wife of the man she’s infatuated with of being a witch in order to get her out of the way.
Day-Lewis stars as John Proctor, with Joan Allen as his wife, Elizabeth. It also features Winona Ryder in the role of Abigail Williams. It’s a strong, faithful adaptation with excellent performances all around and not much to fault. The only element in which it falls short is that the movie lacks some of the political punch of the play, achieving vague moral high ground rather than targeted admonishment.
7Lincoln (2012)
Daniel Day-Lewis’ second last movie isLincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s a portrait of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War attempting to achieve constitutional emancipation for the enslaved population of the United States. Day-Lewis is joined by the likes of Sally Field, James Spader, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt — all solid performers.
Asa Spielberg vehicle, the movie is smoothly constructed and polished, dedicated in its adhesion to historical accuracy. It could easily be criticized for its positioning of a white man at the center of this story about slavery. But, at the same time, it’s a true story, not one constructed to insert a white man where there wasn’t one. Otherwise, despite overstaying its welcome by a hair,Lincolnis a strong piece of work.
6The Boxer (1997)
One of Daniel Day-Lewis’ three collaborations with director Jim Sheridan isThe Boxer, which tells the story of Danny Flynn, a boxer whose rise to prominence is cut short when he is imprisoned for 14 years for involvement in the IRA. Day-Lewis plays Danny alongside Emily Watson as Maggie, his ex-girlfriend who is married to Danny’s best friend by the time he is released from prison.
The Boxertackles conflict in an interesting way, with Danny being a literal fighter who no longer wants to fight for the IRA. Given that the movie covers such a complex period of Irish history, it’s only suitable that it does so in an equally nuanced way. Moreover, it’s impressive that Danny’s stance against violence doesn’t prevent the movie from building momentum and tension.
Related:10 Movies Daniel Day-Lewis Turned Down or Didn’t Get
5Gangs of New York (2002)
Within his final 10 movies, Daniel Day-Lewis has two collaborations with Martin Scorsese, one of which isGangs of New York. Set in Manhattan in the 1860s, the movie follows typical Scorsesian themes of crime, murder, and revenge. The cast is stacked with actors that include Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, and Brendan Gleeson. DiCaprio’s character, Amsterdam, returns to the city seeking vengeance against Day-Lewis’ character, “The Butcher,” who murdered his father.
The exploration of violence inGangs of New Yorksets it up as an interesting counterpart forThe Boxer. This runs even deeper when considering that both movies are raising questions about foundational aspects of their respective countries, which is once again added to by the fact that our protagonist, Amsterdam, is Irish-American.
4In the Name of the Father (1993)
In another IRA-centric movie directed by Jim Sheridan, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a man named Gerry who is falsely imprisoned for a bombing he was not a part of. Emma Thompson joins Day-Lewis as Gareth, Gerry’s lawyer. Day-Lewis does what he does best here, displaying an abundance of raw emotion in the face of intense injustice.
It’s easy to get behind the anger drivingIn the Name of the Father, which is based on a true story, and the drama sweeps you along. In an interview withVariety, Sheridan describes Day-Lewis as being so compelling because “his eyes are so focused and real that the world you are in disappears, and you actually start to believe ‘I’m not in the movie.’” This goes to show that it’s his expressiveness that creates such an immersive experience when watching him.
3There Will Be Blood (2007)
One of Daniel Day-Lewis’ most famous performances is inThere Will Be Blood. This collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson is set in California in the early-1900s. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a ruthless and determined oil prospector who finds himself at odds with Paul Dano’s character, Paul Sunday, from whom he buys land.
As such a dedicated actor, Day-Lewis’ performances never suffer from a lack of commitment, but his work here is particularly impressive on that front. But aside from his acting, the rest of the movie is also perfectly pitched. From Johnny Greenwood’s soundtrack to the beautiful depictions of California, everything works in harmony and if Day-Lewis’ set of final movies weren’t so impressive, this would be hard to beat.
2The Age of Innocence (1993)
The Age of Innocencefinds Daniel Day-Lewis working once again with Martin Scorsese and Winona Ryder. In this Gilded Age period drama, we find Day-Lewis as Newland Archer, with Ryder as his fiancée, May Welland. The pair is joined by Michelle Pfeiffer as Countess Ellen Olenska, May’s cousin who is on the outs after separating from her husband. Despite his engagement, Newland finds himself drawn to Ellen and faces a decision between propriety and passion.
It might seem odd for Scorsese to have gone from mafia andcrime to this period piece, but themes of corruption and (emotional) violence are prevalent here just in different shapes. The way the movie builds tension and devastating romance is stunning, with its intensity distinguishing it from the crowd.
The best of Daniel Day-Lewis’ last 10 movies is also the final installment of the group,Phantom Thread, his second moviewith Paul Thomas Anderson. The story centers around an idiosyncratic dressmaker, Reynolds Woodcock, who becomes infatuated with a waiter he meets at a café, Alma, played by Vicky Krieps. The two swiftly become embroiled in a fascinating and tumultuous relationship that is as unique as its two components.
One of the best aspects of cinema is being able to enter into strange and twisted worlds with no consequence to yourself, andPhantom Threadis a perfect example of this. Reynolds and Alma’s hard-to-define relationship is so satisfying to watch unfold as a result of just how sick it becomes.
