Ben Daniels
Daniels atNew York Comic Con 2017
Born	(1964-06-10)10 June 1964 (age 61) Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985–present
Partner	Ian Gelder (1993–2024; his death)

Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is an English actor.^[1] Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for anOlivier Award for Best Supporting Actor forNever the Sinner (1991), theEvening Standard Award for Best Actor for900 Oneonta (1994), Best Actor in theM.E.N. Theatre Awards forMartin Yesterday (1998), and won the 2001 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in theArthur Miller playAll My Sons.

In 2008, Daniels made his Broadway début in a revival ofLes Liaisons Dangereuses, for which he was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Daniels has also appeared on popular television series includingCutting It (2002–04),The Virgin Queen (2005),Law & Order: UK (2009–11),The Paradise (2013),House of Cards (2013–14), andThe Exorcist (2016–17).

On 1 April 2018 he appeared in theNBC live televised concert rendition ofAndrew Lloyd Webber andTim Rice's rock operaJesus Christ Superstar asPontius Pilate.^[2] Daniels playedAntony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon in thethird season of Netflix seriesThe Crown.^[3] Daniels starred in the role of Walter Sampson in theNetflix superhero series,Jupiter's Legacy.^[4]

In 2023 he played the character of General Bel Riose in the Apple TV+ science fiction seriesFoundation.^[5]

Daniels was born on 10 June 1964 inNuneaton, Warwickshire.^[6] His father was an engineer atRolls-Royce and later a grocer, while his mother owned a children's clothes shop. He has recalled: "I was quite a shy child, but quite disruptive as well. I was very sneaky and underhanded."^[7]

Daniels was educated at Manor Park School, a state comprehensive school inNuneaton, nearCoventry, in Warwickshire (since closed).^[8] According to Daniels, drama lessons atO-levels gave him a voice, and when he attendedsixth form studies atStratford College between 1980 and 1982, doingA-levels in theatre studies andEnglish literature, he attendedRoyal Shakespeare Company performances.^[7] A fellow student recalled that Daniels, whom he knew as Dave, "was very serious about his work, and struck me as incredibly intelligent... you got the sense his mind was working; the cogs were ticking over".^[1] Daniels subsequently trained at theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for three years.^[6][9]

One of Daniels' earliest roles was asJustin Hayward, the lead singer ofthe Moody Blues, as a teenager in two of the band's music videos, "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986) and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (1988). In 1992, he made an appearance in the infamous plane crash episode "Cascade" of the television showCasualty, playing the co-pilot of the doomed plane. He has taken on parts in many British television dramas, such as Robin inThe Lost Language of Cranes (1991), the Biblical characterJonathan in the 1997Emmy-nominated TV filmDavid, the philandering Finn Bevan inCutting It (2002–2005), and Nicholas Brocklehurst in theBBC television miniseriesThe State Within (2006). The latter role was notable for an unexpected same-sex kiss between Daniels' character and another person.^[10] In 2008 he appeared inLark Rise to Candleford, a BBC production based on three semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside written byFlora Thompson.

Daniels has also played a number of real-life characters, such as German State Secretary Dr.Josef Bühler inConspiracy, a 2001 dramatisation of theWannsee Conference at which theFinal Solution was endorsed. He also played the author and journalistIan Fleming, creator ofJames Bond, inIan Fleming: Bondmaker (2005), as well as SirFrancis Walsingham inThe Virgin Queen (2005) and English writerSaki inWho Killed Mrs De Ropp? (2007).^[11] In addition, he has made guest appearances in a number of British TV drama series, includingSoldier Soldier (1992),^[12]A Touch of Frost (1992),^[12]Outside Edge (1994),Spooks (2005), andMerlin (2011).^[12] In 2017, Daniels made a guest appearance as a priest in aTreehouse of Horror episode ofThe Simpsons.^[12]

Daniels may be most recognisable to American audiences for appearing in the 1996 filmBeautiful Thing. Daniels portrayed Tony, boyfriend of Sandra, the protagonist Jamie's mother. In an independent film directed by Lavinia Currier titledPassion in the Desert (1997), Daniels played a French soldier named Augustin Robert.^[13] The film was nominated for aGolden Seashell award. Other feature films that Daniels has starred in areThe Bridge (1992),^[12]I Want You (1998),^[12]Madeline (1998),^[12] andDoom (2005).^[12] He was offered roles in the 2000 releasesThe Patriot andVertical Limit, but turned them down and stated that "the money was good, but it wasn't for me".^[14] Daniels had a brief appearance as GeneralAntoc Merrick in the Star Wars filmRogue One: A Star Wars Story.^[12]

Daniels has said that he loves acting on stage because "it's tough and keeps you on your toes as an actor".^[15] He appeared inAll's Well That Ends Well andAs You Like It (1999–2000), and playedMercutio in a 1994 TV adaptation ofRomeo and Juliet. Other theatre credits includeWaiting for Godot (1994) and900 Oneonta (1994), which earned him a nomination for Best Actor at theEvening Standard Awards.^[6] He also acted inMartin Yesterday (1998), for which he was nominated as Best Actor in theManchester Evening News Theatre Awards,^[6]Naked (1998),Tales From Hollywood (2001),Three Sisters (2003),Iphigenia at Aulis (2004),The God of Hell (2005), andThe Wild Duck (2005–2006). In 2006, Daniels appeared inThérèse Raquin as Laurent, for which a reviewer labelled his performance "riveting".^[16] On 1 April 2018, Daniels appeared asPontius Pilate in theNBC live musical,Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!.^[17]

Daniels won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Theatre Awards^[18] and the 25thLaurence Olivier Awards^[19][20] in 2001 for his performance in theArthur Miller playAll My Sons. He was first nominated for the latter award earlier in his career, in 1991, for his performance as murdererRichard Loeb in the playNever the Sinner at the Playhouse Theatre.^[19] In 2008, Daniels fulfilled a lifetime ambition^[14][21] when he made his Broadway début, headlining as the Vicomte de Valmont in a revival ofLes Liaisons Dangereuses.^[22] The show opened on 1 May 2008.^[23] Daniels was nominated for aTony Award forBest Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his role.^[24]

Daniels played a recurring role as prominent photographer Adam Galloway in theNetflix seriesHouse of Cards (2013-2014).^[12] He played the role of lawyer Rory Murray in the second season ofPassenger List, a fictional podcast produced byRadiotopia. He portrays thespian vampire Santiago on the seriesInterview with the Vampire.^[25]

Daniels was in a relationship with actorIan Gelder from 1993 until the latter's death in May 2024.^[26][7][27] They met during the production ofJoe Orton'sEntertaining Mr Sloane. The couple resided inSouth London.^[28] Daniels was already sure of his orientation in his teens (he once remarked: "Out? I've never been in")^[7] although he did not discuss the matter with his parents because they did not have a very close emotional relationship. He was "cautious about mentioning it when I left drama school, because AIDS was terrifying everyone and there was a hugehomophobic backlash". He decided to reveal his homosexuality at the age of 24, while appearing in an all-star benefit performance ofMartin Sherman'sBent.

Daniels said in an interview in 2001: "Homophobia is still shockingly prevalent in film and TV. I know I've lost work because of being gay, and it is always an issue. Even on a seriousBBC Two drama, there will be some suit in some office going, "Hmmm, isn't he a poof?" I don't consider myself politically gay, but whenever I catch a whiff of that now, I'm on it like a ton of bricks."^[7] In 2007, Daniels was ranked number 79 in the annual Pink List of 100 influential gay and lesbian people in Britain published byThe Independent on Sunday,^[29] down from number 47 in 2006.^[30]

In his spare time, he is an amateur painter and a practitioner ofAshtanga yoga.^[14] From a young age to his early forties, Daniels suffered fromsleep paralysis.^[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBen Daniels.

• Ben Daniels atIMDb
• Ben Daniels at bbc.co.uk Drama
• Ben Daniels at the Royal National Theatre
• "Ben Daniels on IRC, the logfile..." – transcript of an online chat with Ben Daniels from the Official Dutch Beautiful Thing FanclubArchived 29 November 2014 at theWayback Machine

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