Getting close to top spot now, and I can imagine you're anxious to find out who it's been decided has provided the very best acting performance in the last ten years. Hold your horses though, because before you click that red 'Next' button below these paragraphs (and discover that Javier Bardem is the winner), we have an absolutely faultless performance by Mr Day-Lewis to explore, in all its oily goodness. If you are a hardcore fan of this English acting genius (or you've read his Wikipedia page), you'll know that he stubbornly refuses to break character for the duration of filming a movie - a quirk that had him wheelchair bound for multiple months while playing the disabled Christy Brown in My Left Foot, as well as learning how to skin animals and constantly carrying a long rifle during his starring role as Nathaniel Poe in The Last Of The Mohicans. For God's sake, do not let this man play Hitler in ANYTHING. He was good in Gangs Of New York, he was great in Lincoln, but he was freakin' awesome in There Will Be Blood. As a character, Daniel Plainview is a barbarous, cold-hearted fellow who uses his adopted son, H.W. (which has to be the most unsuccessful acronym ever) to mask himself as a family man. He is shrewd, he is clever (despite my cover picture depicting him smoking a pipe whilst covered in oil), and his "competitive streak" results in murder, corruption, and ultimately bundles of un-ending wealth (it's all worth it, kids). Daniel Day-Lewis plays him with a kind of brash charm - Plainview's well-intentioned disguise is easily seen through, but an unmistakable assertiveness keeps everyone tightly under his authority. As Day-Lewis is one of the most distinguished actors of his generation (racking up three Academy Awards - all for an actor in a leading role) his existence on this list won't be as much of a shock to you as some of the others (Joaquin Phoenix - what was I thinking?) but alas, he is not number one, but I bet you can't guess who is ...
