10 Best Daniel Day Lewis Movies That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Best Daniel Day Lewis Movies

Is there a better actor than Daniel Day-Lewis, a three-time Oscar winner? The actor’s filmography is impressive. These are some of his best-known works.

London-born As one of the greatest actors of all time, Daniel Day-Lewis is well recognized. He’s the first male actor to win Best Actor Oscars three times, and he’s won Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and BAFTAs for his performance, making him one of the most decorated actors in the world. All other method actors are beaten by Day-Lewis in their ability to lose themselves and never break character while filming.

Many fictitious and historical individuals, such as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood and Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln, have benefited from his intense portrayal. Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting after playing Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread, which was released in 2017. He still hasn’t withdrawn this statement. Here are IMDb’s top 10 Daniel Day-Lewis films, in recognition of such a great acting career.

1. A Room With A View (1985) – 7.3

A Room With A View (1985)

James Ivory, a British director, adapted E.M. Forster’s famous novel for the big screen. Helena Bonham Carter plays Lucy, a young woman torn between two men she meets on a trip to Italy: the free-spirited, independent George and the geeky Cecil.

Day-Lewis portrays Cecil, a prototypical Edwardian gentleman who follows the conventions when it comes to courting Lucy Julian Sands portrays George, a man who rejects all social norms. The film was praised by critics and won numerous accolades.

2. Lincoln (2012) – 7.3

Acclaimed for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis won one of his three Oscars for his portrayal of Lincoln. Steven Spielberg’s epic film Lincoln is a masterpiece.

To bring Lincoln to life in this star-studded picture Day-Lewis was a standout performer at the time. Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tommy Lee Jones all appear in supporting parts. An examination of Lincoln’s personal and professional problems throughout the American Civil War is the center of the film. The screenplay was written by Tony Kushner, an award-winning writer and filmmaker.

3. Access To The Danger Zone (2012) – 7.4

Access To The Danger Zone (2012)

Day-Lewis lends his voice to a documentary on Doctors Without Borders, an international aid organization. the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan, the film follows medics and humanitarian aid workers as they work in these three countries between 2011 and 2012.

The film was never released widely, but it provides a crucial first-hand look at the humanitarian relief that is desperately required by innocent victims of long-term conflicts and wars. Access to the Danger Zone includes interviews with experts and volunteers in addition to on-the-ground film.

4. Gangs Of New York (2002) – 7.5

Martin Scorsese period drama “The Godfather Part III” depicts the initial days of gang violence in New York City. Irish immigrants began arriving in Manhattan’s Five Points district in 1840, and British and Dutch-American residents quickly became irritated by them.

Day-Lewis portrays the “Native” gang’s ruthless leader, Bill the Butcher, who is dubbed such for his prowess with a knife. During his captivating presentation, he shows the audience just how sinister and power-hungry Bill really is. Also starring in Scorsese’s violent epic are Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz.

5. Phantom Thread (2017) – 7.5

Phantom Thread (2017)

Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Reynolds Woodcock in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1950s British drama Phantom Thread is one of his most intimate and intricate character studies. Woodcock is a renowned master tailor who has worked with a slew of notable figures. A young immigrant waitress named Alma is introduced as the film’s first subject.

Personal perfectionist Woodcock is prone to rage and yelling at the slightest provocation or setback. Phantom Thread delves into the most intimate relationships in Woodcock’s life and the extent to which his own compulsive insanity enables him to ruin them. Alma, on the other hand, is a match made in heaven for him.

6. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – 7.7

James Fenimore Cooper’s novel of the same name is the subject of Michael Mann’s romantic adaption. Cooper’s fictional Natty Bumppo, the son of white parents who grows up in Delaware with Delaware Native-Americans, is the inspiration for Day-Lewis’ Hawkeye character in the film. Many of Fenimore Cooper’s writings feature Bumppo, who is a constant presence.

The Seven Years’ War takes place in the 1750s, and The Last of the Mohicans is set in that time period. They join forces with the British in order to protect their land from the French invasion. Beautiful cinematography and a wealth of natural images are hallmarks of the film.

7. My Left Foot (1989) – 7.9

My Left Foot (1989)

Day-Lewis received a lot of recognition for his performance in this honest and genuine biopic of an Irish guy named Christy Brown. Brown, the main character in the movie, was born with cerebral palsy. Brown’s mother, on the other hand, instills a spirit of resistance in her son instead of resigning him to his fate and the stigma attached to those who share his disease.

His left foot, which is one of his few working parts, is how Brown learns to write, draw, paint. A well-known author and artist, as well as a philanthropist, is what he becomes. Day-Lewis portrays both the great and negative aspects of Brown, as the film reveals that he was a heavy drinker who wasn’t always the most pleasant person to spend time with..

8. Gandhi (1982) – 8.0

The Mohandas Gandhi biopic starring Richard Attenborough was a critical and box office hit. It won numerous awards. As Gandhi, the well-known proponent of nonviolence and an advocate for Indian independence from British rule, played by British actor Ben Kingsley, who is of Indian heritage.

Beginning in 1893, Gandhi is kicked out of a whites-only compartment on an African train and continues with him being assassinated in 1948. Day-Lewis appears in a minor role as a young man who disparages Gandhi in this film.

9. In the Name of the Father (1993) – 8.1

In the Name of the Father (1993)

An Irishman named Gerry Conlon, wrongly convicted of being responsible for an IRA attack in England in 1974, is the subject of this tragic drama directed by Jim Sheridan, who earlier worked with Day-Lewis on My Left Foot. Four off-duty police officers and a civilian were killed in a bar bombing in Guildford, England.

Conlon made a confession following a cruel and torturous interrogation, despite the fact that he is innocent. He and his family have been wrecked, and Conlon’s father has been sentenced to prison as well. For the part, Day-Lewis shed 50 pounds and spent days in a detention cell.

10. There Will Be Blood (2007) – 8.2

First, he worked with Paul Thomas Anderson on There Will Be Blood, an American epic about early oil speculators, where becoming rich always came at a price. Phantom Thread follows. Adapted from Upton Sinclair’s classic, There Will Be Blood stars Day-Lewis as a miner who rises through the ranks of the oil industry.

Day-Lewis throws a light on the men who found out how to profit from the rising free market by portraying Plainview as unsympathetic and insane. It was Day-Lewis’ performance that won him an Oscar.