Day-Lewis returned to acting for Gangs of New York

Daniel Day-Lewis has cut an enigmatic figure since launching his career on stage and screen.

The creative arts were in his blood as his grandfather, Sir Michael Balcon, was the head of the famous Ealing Studios and his father was the late poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis.

He has walked away from his artistic profession on a number of occasions, saying he does not enjoy the acting process.

But despite his fickle love affair with the stage and screen the 45-year-old is still one of the most respected actors of his time.

Although born in Britain, he assumed Irish citizenship and moved to County Wicklow in 1993.

He studied at the Bristol Old Vic, spending his formative acting years in repertory there and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Bankable star

He had a few bit parts in films such as Ghandi and Sunday Bloody Sunday in the early 70s but it was not until he was cast in My Beautiful Laundrette did he come to the critics' attention.

Day-Lewis has three children

His turn as the blithering toff in Merchant Ivory's A Room With a View added to his growing status as a bankable star.

He went on to win a New York Critics' Society Award for best supporting actor in both A Room with a View and My Beautiful Laundrette.

Following this success he split his time between film and stage, with movie roles including The Unbearable Likeness of Being and the poorly-received US comedy Stars and Bars.

Day-Lewis' powerful performance as the writer and artist with cerebral palsy, Christy Brown, in My Left Foot really brought him the respect of both critics and viewers.

Directed by Jim Sheridan, My Left Foot was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Method acting

Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, who played Christy's mother, both emerged Oscar winners at the 1990 ceremony.

When it comes to preparing for his roles, Day-Lewis is a well-known practitioner of Method acting, emerging himself in the experiences of his character.

Before playing Christy Brown, who was severely physically disabled, Day-Lewis lived in a wheelchair for a number of weeks.

And in preparation for playing for The Unbearable Likeness of Being he studied the Czechoslovakian language.

My Left Foot won Day-Lewis an Oscar

The stage beckoned once again for Day-Lewis following his Oscar win and he began a run in Richard Eyre's production of Hamlet at the National Theatre.

But his stage career came to a dramatic end when he walked out during a performance claiming to have seen an apparition of his late father.

He has not worked in the theatre since.

The father-of-three then took a break from acting altogether, until returning to star in The Last of the Mohicans in 1992.

Retirement

During the 90s he worked on only a smattering of movies including The Age of Innocence, directed by Martin Scorsese, and In the Name of the Father.

The 1997 box office flop The Boxer signalled another phase in Day-Lewis' self-imposed exile from the movie world.

He moved to Italy with his wife and reportedly worked as a cobbler in Florence.

But Scorsese lured him out of retirement, after much persuasion, to star in his epic.

His portrayal of Bill the Butcher garnered a Golden Globe nomination.

Experts predicted he was a certain for the award but he eventually lost out to Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt.

But there is little to suggest Day-Lewis will return to acting full-time, saying he did not enjoy the film-making process.