A Lifelong Study of Evasion: Celebrating Daniel Day-Lewis On His 51st Birthday

OK, OK, I can already hear you all sighing exasperatedly: Another goddamn Daniel Day-Lewis post? Haven't you celebrated this guy enough, between the groveling acclaim over his career and the virtual I-wanna-sex-you-up drool caked on the computer screen?

Quite frankly, no.

Today is DD-L's 51st birthday, and that is reason to do a happy dance. Well, I don't dance, but if I did, I would do a combination Irish jig/English Country Dance in honor of my favorite actor/boyfriend's dual citizenship in both Ireland and the UK. It is a day to honor our greatest living actor, and I just happen to be wearing my party dress (as opposed to my birthday suit, which I also sometimes wear to, um, "honor" DD-L). This is a fete exalting all things Day-Lewis. And yes, I will be jumping out of a cake.

He was born in 1957, the son of actress Jill Balcon and British Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis (a poet! I knew he came from good stock!). He went to boarding schools, was a bit of a wild child, and ended up finding his calling when he joined the National Youth Theater. This was only after he was rejected from his first career choice: cabinet-maker.

He honed a career on stage and had a bit part in 1971's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (a bloody good film, might I add). From the beginning of his film career, he's done a lot of high-profile movies that were artistically relevant and respected, as well as serving as career-boosters and good exposure for an up-and-coming young actor. For example, he had a very small role as a South African street thug in "Gandhi", which I'm sure looked quite impressive on a resume.

His breakthrough came in 1985's "My Beautiful Laundrette", a bizarre though entertaining Stephen Frears film. The movie was also one of the first unapologetically gay love stories. It told of the love between two men, white Londoner Johnny (DD-L) and Indian laundry worker Omar (Gordon Warnecke). It broke barriers not only for its honest depiction of a same-sex love affair, but also for its no-holds-barred portrayal of 1980s culture clash in the heart of London. Also memorable about this film is a scene that I think is probably the single most sexy moment in a motion picture. The two men are in bed, and at one point, Johnny takes a swig of champagne, leans into Omar, and transfers the champagne in his own mouth into Omar's with a deep tongue kiss. YOWZA!

Johnny was a brave role for any actor to take on, but especially one in the genesis of his career. Yet instead of blacklisting him, the role shot DD-L to stardom. He followed "Laundrette" with a celebrated turn in "A Room With A View" and his first lead as the philandering, complex Tomas in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". "Lightness" is one of my all-time favorites, as is the book on which it based. DD-L was perfectly cast here, and his impassioned work opposite the great Juliette Binoche and terrific Lena Olin is an intense, moving character study.

Intense is a word that could describe every aspect of Day-Lewis's work. He is famous for his tireless, thorough, and total immersion into his roles. He often stays in character throughout the entire shooting of a film, whether or not he's in front of the camera. This driven ethic and unquestionable dedication to his craft has made him both legendary and, to some who have worked with him, alienating. He makes no apologies for his approach, and the results are some of the finest performances ever captured on film. It's no wonder he's only taken on four roles in the last ten years; his process is, I'm sure, exhausting. Though he once described his life as "a lifelong study of evasion", his work proves otherwise. There's not an actor out there who can inhabit his work with such PERvasion.

After "Lightness", DD-L did a surprisingly mediocre movie called "Stars and Bars", to my knowledge his only attempt at comedy. Honestly, I can't give an objective critique of his performance in "Stars and Bars" because I was completely enraptured with one scene and one scene only: my Danny totally, utterly naked for an entire take. It's the only thing that stuck with me about "Stars and Bars".

He won his first Oscar for "My Left Foot", playing British artist Christy Brown. It's one of those mesmerizing portrayals that is so flawless in its execution that you almost feel like a voyeur, glimpsing such personal aspects of one man's life. A number of equally-strong performances followed, including "The Last of the Mohicans" (which is PORN to me -- check out that bod!), "The Age of Innocence", and "In the Name of the Father". I've already blogged about DD-L's masterful work in "The Crucible" and "There Will Be Blood" (Oscar #2). In "Gangs of New York", his Bill the Butcher was one of the most terrifying characters to ever hit the big screen.

What makes DD-L so fascinating and appealing for me is not only what he's given the world, but what he hasn't. For instance, he was working as a cobbler in Florence when he was tracked down and offered the role in "Gangs". Yeah, a cobbler. There's definitely a mystery here that is transfixing in its riddle, and there is something undeniably sexy in that.

Day-Lewis has three sons, one with his former partner, the French actress Isabelle Adjani, and two with his wife, actress/director/writer Rebecca Miller (daughter of Arthur). It may surprise you that -- apart from that confounding mess she wore to the Oscars this year -- I just can't say anything bad about Rebecca Miller. I like her; I like her movies; I like that she gets it good from Bill the Butcher every damn night.

Some gals have all the luck.