Top 10 Daniel Day-Lewis Scenes

The 16th president of the United States was known for many things - one of which was his inspirational words and speeches on things he believed in. In this scene, Day-Lewis sells Lincoln’s wisdom perfectly, briefly referencing the work of mathematician Euclid to help explain equality. His dramatic pauses and glances at the ground give us the impression of a deep, thinking man, characteristics Lincoln was renowned for.

In this biographical drama, tensions run high between a father and son who are framed for a bombing carried out by the IRA. Confrontations are aplenty throughout, but this prison cell scene between Day-Lewis’ Gerry Conlon and Pete Postlethwaite’s Giuseppe Conlon is cinema gold. The recent events cause Gerry’s childhood to crash over him like a wave as he grills his father over the way he was treated when he was young. And he emotionally falls apart before our eyes.

Bill “The Butcher” Cutting is a certified psychopath - and you’re never quite sure when he’s going to snap, which is what makes this encounter so terrifying. Questioning one of his on-the-take cops about loyalty, Bill is riled when he doesn't get the answer he is after from John C. Reilly’s Happy Jack. What follows are intense silences, thousand yard stares and tightly contained outbursts of anger, and we sit across the table and share every blow along with Jack. Intense.

You know one of those scenes that builds and builds - this is one of them. Reluctantly attending church to repent his sins, machiavellian oil man Daniel Plainview steps up, only to be humiliated by pastor Eli, who is well aware of Plainview’s conniving plans. Frustrated, angered and on the edge of tears, Planeview barely keeps it together as he is berated and slapped by Eli, before being baptised.

A film based around the Salem witchcraft trials, Day-Lewis’ John Proctor is forced to confront the ultimate fork in the road - confess to witchcraft and forever shame his family name, or die. Signing the confession, he insists that it not be shown to anyone, and delivers a touching speech of selflessness, with his lip trembling throughout. But he’s forced to make a choice and the ultimate sacrifice - and the result is heartbreaking.

Although on the surface he’s a maniac, in this scene, Bill “The Butcher” shows us that there is more to him than just random bouts of rage. Reflecting on his rivalry with Priest Vallon, he expresses his complex emotions towards him, which contort continuously throughout the conversation, from admirable to vengeful. Not only does this give us an insight into Bill’s character, but it’s a huge statement on religion and division.

Time is running out, and Lincoln needs a few more votes if he is to abolish slavery. While members of his office are already accepting defeat and questioning the validity of the constitution, Lincoln quietly sits and listens, before he decides enough is enough. Bursting into a passionate speech about how the constitution will cure slavery, he stays composed but a little more turbulent than usual. He comes across as a man on a mission that will do anything to accomplish it - and that’s exactly what Lincoln was.

Another highly intense scene, where Gerry Conlon is coerced into signing a confession for a crime he didn’t commit. Surrounding him in an interrogation room in order to intimidate him, one officer whispers in his ear and threatens to kill his father - and then it all goes off. Stuck in two minds between his own freedom and his father’s life, he wrestles with a whirlwind of emotions, before hesitantly signing his life away.

Remember the aforementioned ridicule at the baptism? Well, Daniel Plainview gets his own back here with an excruciatingly patronising speech aimed at Eli where he explains how he has gone behind his back and stolen all of his oil. Plainview’s face bursts red with rage, he dribbles with gleeful anger and, oh yes, who can forget his milkshake analogy. It all ends with gruesome violence, but the altercation before it is without doubt the highlight.

You didn’t think we were going to leave Christy out, did you? In what is undoubtedly Day-Lewis’ most transformational role, he plays cerebral palsy sufferer Christy Brown. In one of the most dramatic scenes in the film, Christy confesses his love for his friend Eileen - only for her to tell him that she is engaged to be married. Feeling cheated and betrayed, Christy loses it, orders shots of whiskey and insults just about everyone in the room. A truly saddening scene, and one expertly executed by the thespian.