Daniel Day-Lewis - Early Life

Early Life

Day-Lewis was born in London, the son of poet Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon. Daniel's father, who was of Anglo-Irish background, lived mainly in England from the age of two and later became the United Kingdom's Poet Laureate. Daniel's mother was Jewish, and his maternal grandparents' families had emigrated to Britain from Latvia and Poland. His maternal grandfather, Sir Michael Balcon, was the head of Ealing Studios. Two years after his birth, the family moved to Croom's Hill, Greenwich, south-east London, where Day-Lewis grew up along with his older sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, who became a documentary filmmaker and television chef.

Living in middle class Greenwich, Day-Lewis found himself among tough South London kids, and, being of part Jewish ancestry and "posh", he was often bullied. He mastered the local accent and mannerisms and credits that with being his first convincing performances. Later in life, he was known to speak of himself as very much a disorderly character in his younger years, often in trouble for shoplifting and other petty crimes.

In 1968, Day-Lewis's parents, finding his behavior to be too wild, sent him to the independent Sevenoaks School in Kent as a boarder. Though he detested the school, he was introduced to his three most prominent interests: woodworking, acting, and fishing. His disdain for the school grew, and after two years at Sevenoaks, he was transferred to another independent school, Bedales in Petersfield, Hampshire, which his sister attended, and which had a more relaxed and creative ethos. The transfer led to his film debut at the age of 14 in Sunday Bloody Sunday in which he played a vandal in an uncredited role. He described the experience as "heaven", for getting paid £2 to vandalise expensive cars parked outside his local church.

Leaving Bedales in 1975, his unruly attitude had faded and he needed to make a career choice. Although he had excelled on stage at the National Youth Theatre, he decided to become a cabinet-maker, applying for a five-year apprenticeship. However, due to lack of experience, he was not accepted. He then applied (and was accepted) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which he attended for three years, eventually performing at the Bristol Old Vic itself. At one point he played understudy to Pete Postlethwaite, opposite whom he would later play in The Last of the Mohicans and In the Name of the Father.