Daniel Day-Lewis plays fictional gang leader Bill the Butcher in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.
Released in 2002, Gangs of New York dramatizes conflict among rival groups in nineteenth-century Manhattan. Day-Lewis’s character is formally named William Cutting, but he is widely known by the nickname Bill the Butcher. He leads the nativist Bowery Boys and becomes the central antagonist of the film.
The story follows Amsterdam Vallon, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as he returns to the Five Points neighborhood and seeks revenge for his father. The film uses the 1863 New York City draft riots and the city’s gang conflicts as major historical settings, while presenting a heavily dramatized narrative.
Bill the Butcher should not be confused with Boss Tweed, the real New York political figure who also appears in the film. William Cutting is the character’s formal name, whereas Bill the Butcher is the distinctive answer generally sought by the question.