5 Brutal Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Gangs of New York

Blood, blades, and one of the baddest performances ever put on film.

Before there was Peaky Blinders or The Northman, there was Gangs of New York — a savage, grimy epic that spit in the face of history class and lit the streets of The Five Points on fire. It’s not just a movie. It’s a war cry.

Here are 5 behind-the-scenes facts that prove this film didn’t just go hard — it went full throttle, no brakes.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis Stayed in Character — Off-Camera. Always.

When DDL played Bill the Butcher, he didn’t just wear the costume — he became the butcher. For real.
He walked the set like a loaded weapon, used his character voice at all times, and refused to drop the act even when the cameras stopped rolling.

Crew members said talking to him was like interviewing a knife.
The man showed up, went feral, and never left.

2. He Got Pneumonia Because He Refused to Wear a Modern Coat

It got cold on set. Like, bone-snapping cold. But Daniel?
Refused to wear anything that wasn’t period-correct — because Bill wouldn’t. So he caught pneumonia.
Did he back down? Nah. He kept filming.

Modern coat? That’s weakness.
Pneumonia? Just another scar for the legend.

3. Scorsese Spent 20 YEARS Trying to Make This Movie

You read that right. Scorsese wanted to make Gangs of New York for two straight decades.
He started in the '70s, got blocked, delayed, underfunded, then finally came back with a vengeance in the early 2000s.

By the time he filmed it, it wasn’t just a movie — it was a personal vendetta.

4. Bill the Butcher Was Based on a Real Guy… Who Was Somehow Worse

William Poole — the real-life “Bill the Butcher” — led a nativist gang called the Bowery Boys. He was a brawler, a political enforcer, and a knife-slinging street legend in mid-1800s NYC.
The film version? A little cleaner than the real thing.

And yes — that’s saying something.

5. Day-Lewis Trained With Real Butchers to Get the Blade Work Right

That knife work on screen? 100% real. Day-Lewis trained with legit butchers to learn how to carve meat, throw steel, and handle a blade like a pro.

Dude didn’t act like a killer.
He became one — on camera and off.

So Why Are We Telling You This?

Because every collection we drop comes with some weight behind it — and this one’s carrying a blade.

The raw energy of Gangs of New York, the chaos of the Five Points, and the sharp intensity of Bill the Butcher?
Yeah, that was the spark.

We took that grit, that fire, that no-apologies kind of presence — and built something with it.
The Butcher Collection is on its way.
And while we’re not showing our hand just yet... you’ll feel it when it lands.

Stay sharp. Stay loud.
More soon.