Daniel Day-Lewis has this way of disappearing. But as William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting in Martin Scorsese’s 2002 epic Gangs of New York, he didn't just disappear; he colonized the screen with a glass eye and a blood-stained apron. He’s the guy you love to hate. Or maybe just hate to love? Honestly, it’s hard to tell because the performance is so magnetic that it almost makes you forget he’s a xenophobic murderer.
The thing is, Gangs of New York the Butcher isn’t just a movie character. He’s a distorted mirror of a real human being named William Poole. If you think the movie version was intense, the history of the actual "Bill the Butcher" is arguably weirder, messier, and way more political than Hollywood let on.
Most people watch the film and think it’s just about a guy who likes knives. It’s not. It’s about the soul of America being forged in a literal gutter. Bill represents the "Nativist" movement—the "No-Nothings"—who believed that if you weren't born on American soil (and weren't Protestant), you didn't belong. It’s a theme that, let’s be real, hasn't exactly gone away.
The Real Man Behind the Meat Cleaver
William Poole wasn't a "Cutting." He was a Poole. Born in New Jersey in 1821, he eventually moved to New York City and became a butcher by trade. But he wasn't just slicing steaks. He was a bare-knuckle boxer. A "shoulder hitter." Back then, political parties like the Whigs or the Know-Nothings didn't just run ads; they hired guys like Bill to go to polling places and beat the living daylights out of anyone voting for the wrong person.
Imagine that. You go to vote, and a 200-pound professional fighter with a knife is standing there asking who you're backing. It was brutal.
The movie gets some things right and some things very wrong. For starters, the real Bill the Butcher was actually dead by the time the Draft Riots of 1863 happened. In the film, he’s the king of the Five Points during the Civil War. In reality, he died in 1855 after being shot in a bar fight at Stanwix Hall. His last words? "Goodbye boys, I die a true American." Talk about staying on brand.
Why Daniel Day-Lewis is the Only Actor Who Could Do This
You’ve heard the stories. Day-Lewis didn't just learn to throw knives; he reportedly listened to Eminem to get into a "combative" headspace and spent his off-hours sharpening blades. He refused to wear a warm coat on set because they didn't have them in the 1860s, ended up getting pneumonia, and still wouldn't take modern medicine.
It’s insane.
But that intensity is why the character works. Bill the Butcher isn't a cartoon villain. He has a code. He respects Priest Vallon (played by Liam Neeson) because Vallon was a "warrior." This creates a weird dynamic where the villain is the most honorable person in the room, despite being a total monster.
He’s a predator.
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Look at the scene where he’s draped in the American flag, sitting in a rocking chair, talking about how he carved the eye out of his own head because he lost a fight. It’s Shakespearean. It’s gross. It’s basically the definition of "toxic masculinity" before that was even a phrase.
The Five Points: A Nightmare in Lower Manhattan
To understand Gangs of New York the Butcher, you have to understand where he lived. The Five Points was arguably the worst slum in the history of the world. It was located where Columbus Park and the New York City courts are now in Foley Square.
It was built on a swamp. Literally.
The Collect Pond had been filled in poorly, so the buildings were literally sinking into the mud and sewage. It smelled like death. Disease was everywhere. This is the environment that created a man like Bill. If you didn't have a gang, you didn't have a life. You were just "meat" for the butchers of the world.
The Gangs You Actually Needed to Worry About
- The Bowery Boys: These were Bill’s people. They weren't just criminals; many were volunteer firemen. But back then, fire departments would fight each other for the right to put out a fire while the building burned down.
- The Dead Rabbits: The Irish gang led by Vallon. "Rabbit" was likely a slang term for a "rowdy" or "riotous" person. They carried a dead rabbit on a pike. Charming.
- The Plug Uglies: Known for wearing giant plug hats stuffed with wool and leather so they could use them as helmets during street brawls.
Scorsese didn't make these names up. They were real. And they were terrifying.
The Politics of Hate
We need to talk about the "Know-Nothings." This wasn't some fringe group of losers. At one point, they were a massive political force in the United States. They were officially called the American Party. When people asked them about their secret meetings, they were told to say, "I know nothing."
Bill the Butcher was their enforcer.
He hated the Irish immigrants because they were Catholic. To Bill, being Catholic meant you were loyal to the Pope, not to America. He saw the influx of immigrants as a threat to his "Native" way of life. It’s a narrative that repeats throughout history. Whether it’s 1850 or 2026, the fear of the "other" is a powerful drug.
The movie simplifies this a bit for the sake of drama, but the core truth is there. Bill sees himself as a patriot. That’s what makes him so scary. He doesn't think he’s the bad guy. He thinks he’s the only one willing to do the "dirty work" to save his country.
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Breaking Down the "Eagle" Scene
There’s a moment in the film where Bill is teaching Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) how to cut meat. He points to the different parts of a carcass. He’s clinical. He explains that if you hit a certain spot, the "kill" is instant.
It’s a metaphor, obviously.
Bill sees the entire city as a carcass. He knows where the pressure points are. He knows how to manipulate the corrupt politicians like William "Boss" Tweed. Tweed is another real historical figure who appears in the movie. The alliance between the "muscle" (Bill) and the "money" (Tweed) is how New York actually functioned.
You can’t have one without the other.
Bill provides the votes and the intimidation; Tweed provides the legal cover and the city contracts. It’s a perfect, filthy ecosystem.
Accuracy vs. Art: What Scorsese Changed
Scorsese spent decades trying to get this movie made. He based it on Herbert Asbury’s 1927 book The Gangs of New York. The problem? Asbury was a bit of a sensationalist. He loved a good story more than a boring fact.
- The Chinese Pagoda: The movie shows a massive underground world. While there were tunnels and cellars, it wasn't quite that "theatrical."
- The Weapons: People did use knives and clubs, but the movie makes it look like a medieval battlefield. In reality, there were a lot more pistols involved.
- The Timeline: As mentioned, the real Bill was long gone before the Draft Riots. Merging these events was a choice to show the "end" of an era.
Does it matter? Not really. The movie captures the feeling of the era better than a dry textbook ever could. It captures the chaos. The mud. The sense that you could get your throat slit for a nickel.
The Legacy of the Butcher
Why do we still talk about this character? Why does he show up in memes and video essays twenty years later?
It’s because Bill the Butcher is the ultimate personification of the "Self-Made Man" gone wrong. He’s charismatic, disciplined, and fiercely loyal to his own. But his "own" is a very small circle.
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He represents the violent birth of a city. New York wasn't built by polite people in suits; it was hacked out of the dirt by people like Bill and the immigrants he hated. They were two sides of the same coin. Both were desperate. Both were violent. Both were trying to survive in a city that didn't care if they lived or died.
How to Explore This History Further
If you’re genuinely fascinated by this era, don't stop at the movie. There is so much more to the story of the 19th-century underworld.
Visit the Tenement Museum: If you're ever in NYC, go to the Lower East Side. You can see how people actually lived in these conditions. It puts the violence of the gangs into perspective. When twelve people are living in one room, tempers get short.
Read "The Gangs of New York" by Herbert Asbury: Yes, it’s semi-fictional in parts, but the prose is incredible. It’s the source material for everything you love about the film.
Research the "Five Points" Archeology Project: In the 1990s, when they were building the Foley Square courthouse, they found a literal treasure trove of artifacts from the Five Points. They found everything from tea sets to gambling dice. It proves that the people living there weren't just "thugs"—they were humans trying to have a bit of dignity in a hellhole.
Watch the "Making Of" Documentaries: Watching Daniel Day-Lewis stay in character between takes is a lesson in craft. It’s terrifying to see him stare down a camera crew while holding a meat cleaver.
Bill the Butcher is a reminder that history isn't just dates on a page. It's people. Violent, confused, passionate, and often wrong-headed people. He’s the ghost of a New York that we’ve tried to pave over with glass skyscrapers and Starbucks, but if you look closely at the cobblestones, the blood is still there.
He's still there.
To truly understand the "Butcher," you have to look at the census records of the 1850s and see the names of the men who lived on Mulberry Street and Baxter Street. Look at the police blotters from the Old Brewery. You'll find that while the movie is a fantasy, the desperation that fueled Bill Cutting was very, very real.
If you want to see the physical remnants of Bill's world, head to the intersection of Worth Street and Baxter Street. Stand there. Imagine the "Old Brewery" tenement house towering over you. Imagine the noise, the filth, and the sight of a man in a stovepipe hat watching you from a doorway. That's the real Gangs of New York. That's the world the Butcher ruled.