Daniel Lapaine
Lapaine in 2003
Born	(1971-06-15)15 June 1971 (age 54) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia
Alma mater	National Institute of Dramatic Art (1992)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Fay Ripley ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2

Daniel Lapaine (born 15 June 1971) is an Australian stage, film and television actor, living inLondon. He first came to prominence in 1994, playing South African swimmer David Van Arkle inMuriel's Wedding (1994). He also works as a writer and director.

Other acting credits include54 (1998),The 10th Kingdom (2000),Helen of Troy (2003),Death on the Nile (2004),Jericho (2006),Moon Shot (2009),Zero Dark Thirty (2012),Black Mirror (2011 & 2017),Versailles (2015),Catastrophe (2015),The Durrells (2017),Upright (2019–2022), andQueen of Oz (2023).

Born inSydney,New South Wales, to an Italian father and an Australian mother, Lapaine graduated from theNational Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1992.^[1]

His career started in 1994, when he played the South African swimmer David Van Arkle inP. J. Hogan'sMuriel's Wedding.^[2] Since then he has worked internationally in film, theatre, and television and is now based in London.^[3]

Lapaine has made two appearances in the UK TV ShowBlack Mirror, six years apart.^[4] First in 2011, as the morally dubious Max in "The Entire History of You",^[4] and later as the masochistic Dr. Dawson in 2017's "Black Museum".^[5]

Lapaine's film work includesKathryn Bigelow's Oscar-winningZero Dark Thirty,^[6]Last Chance Harvey,^[6] oppositeDustin Hoffman andEmma Thompson, andShanghai, oppositeJohn Cusack. He played the lead role in Pathe'sThe Abduction Club,^[6] and Miramax'sElephant Juice, as well as memorable appearances inBrokedown Palace oppositeClaire Danes andKate Beckinsale.^[7] He has also appeared in many other films including54,^[6]Dangerous Beauty,Polish Wedding andGozo.^[6]

Lapaine has worked extensively in television, appearing in all four series ofCatastrophe for Channel 4 andAmazon Prime, in which he plays the part of Dave.^[8] He portrayed KingCharles II in theCanal + seriesVersailles (2015).^[6] He starred in the 2000 television miniseriesThe 10th Kingdom as Prince Wendell White, ruler of the 4th Kingdom, and played Tim Allerton in the 2004Agatha Christie's Poirot^[6] episodeDeath on the Nile opposite David Suchet. In 2009, he portrayedNeil Armstrong in the television filmMoon Shot (2009).^[6] He also played Hector inHelen of Troy oppositeRufus Sewell. Other television credits includeCritical;Vexed;Lewis;Vera;^[6]Identity;Hotel Babylon;Sex, the City and Me;^[6]Jane Hall;The Good Housekeeping Guide;The Golden Hour;^[6]Jericho;^[6] andI Saw You. Lapaine also wrote and directed the Australian feature film48 Shades.^[9] Based on the 1999 novel48 Shades of Brown byNick Earls, the film was released in Australia by Buena Vista in 2006.^[3]

From 2019, He starred as Toby Flynn, working alongsideTim Minchin andMilly Alcock in the Australian comedy seriesUpright.^[6] In 2023, he starred as Prince Frederick, the fictional heir to the British throne, in the BBC One seriesQueen of Oz, also starringCatherine Tate as his sister Princess Georgiana.^[10] In Australia, he appeared inA Country Practice andG.P., oppositeCate Blanchett.^[7]

In theatre, he most recently he played Bassanio inThe Merchant of Venice atShakespeare's Globe,^[10] oppositeJonathan Pryce. Other theatre credits include the parts of Trip inOther Desert Cities and Eilert Lovborg in Ibsen'sHedda Gabler at theOld Vic, oppositeSheridan Smith.^[11] He played Leontes inThe Winter's Tale at theSheffield Crucible;^[10] Kurt inThe Dance of Death at theDonmar Warehouse,^[10] and atTrafalgar Studios, Chelsea.^[10] He played George inAll My Sons in theWest End,^[10] oppositeDavid Suchet. At theRoyal Court, he appeared inScenes from the Back of Beyond andF***ing Games, directed byDominic Cooke.^[10] In Australia, Lapaine appeared atThe Sydney Theatre Company inKing Lear,^[10] andLes Parents Terribles,^[3] "Island" at Belvoir Street and for theBell Shakespeare Company;^[10] he played Romeo inRomeo and Juliet,^[10] as well as appearing inHamlet andRichard III.^[10]

In 1998, Lapaine met English actressFay Ripley at a party hosted by mutual friends. After meeting again on a trip in New York, they began dating.^[12] They married in October 2001 in a ceremony inTuscany, Italy. In October 2002, the couple had their first child, a daughter named Parker. Their second child, a son, named Sonny, was born in October 2006.^[13] They reside in London.^[3]

• Daniel Lapaine atIMDb

• 1971 births
• Living people
• Australian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male television actors
• Australian people of Italian descent
• Male actors from Sydney
• National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni
• People educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney)

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2023
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