53. Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill
      “The Butcher” Cutting
      Gangs of New York (2002)

Day-Lewis listened to Eminem to prepare for his role as the murderous overlord Bill the Butcher, instilling in him a boisterous rage that caused more than one audience member to cower. With an angry squint, Day-Lewis embodies all the hatred, passion, and self-righteousness of early Irish-Americans trying to stake a claim on a land that didn’t particularly want them. The period setting tested the actor’s work methods: While shooting during winter at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, he refused to wear anything but Bill’s ratty coat and promptly became sick. He at first resisted taking the antibiotics doctors prescribed for him because they wouldn’t be available in the 19th century, when Gangs took place.

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