Danny Strong | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Strong in 2013 | |
| Born | 1973 or 1974 (age 51–52) |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupations | Actor, film, television writer, director, producer |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Partner(s) | Caitlin Mehner (2013–present; engaged) |
Danny Strong (born 1973 or 1974[1]) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles asJonathan Levinson inBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Doyle McMaster inGilmore Girls and Danny Siegel inMad Men. He also wrote the screenplays forRecount, the HBO adaptationGame Change,The Butler, and co-wrote the two-part finale ofThe Hunger Games film trilogy,Mockingjay – Part 1 andMockingjay – Part 2. Strong also is a co-creator, executive producer, director, and writer for theFox seriesEmpire and created, wrote and directed the award-winningHulu miniseriesDopesick.
Strong has won twoEmmy Awards, twoWriters Guild of America Awards, aProducers Guild of America Award, twoPeabody Awards and anNAACP Image Award.
Strong was born inManhattan Beach, California.[2] He grew up in a Jewish family of Lithuanian, Russian, and Polish origin.[3] He began acting at a young age. As a child, Strong rented videos fromVideo Archives and became friends withQuentin Tarantino, who worked there as a clerk: "I would just literally sit and chat with him for 45 minutes, an hour at a time about movies, and he got me turned on to all these different movies that 10-year-olds don't see."[4] By the time he was 10, Strong became even more interested with the world of film and was sending his photo to agents.[5][6]
Strong attendedMira Costa High School,[7] and then studied film and theatre at theUniversity of Southern California.[8]
Strong is known for playingJonathan Levinson on the television seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayer andParis Geller's boyfriend Doyle McMaster onGilmore Girls; he has also appeared in films such asPleasantville,Dangerous Minds,Seabiscuit, thespoofShriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, and was in the filmSydney White as the Grumpy dork, Gurkin. Strong has also had guest parts insitcoms such asSeinfeld,Clueless,3rd Rock from the Sun,Over the Top,Grey's Anatomy,Boy Meets World andHow I Met Your Mother and has also guest-lectured in acting classes on finding a job as an actor. In the popularAMC seriesMad Men he playedDanny Siegel, a young man with no talent, trying to break into the advertising industry, later making a career in Hollywood. Strong also appeared on the HBO seriesGirls in the third and fourth seasons; and appeared on the fifth and sixth seasons ofJustified as Albert Fekus, a rapist prison guard. He also starred inBillions as Todd Krakow, Secretary of the Treasury. Strong was set to appear inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood asDean Martin,[9] but his scenes were cut from the film.[10]
At 25, in the hopes of being the lead actor in his own film, Strong wrote a dark comedy about two men who kill an elderly man for hisrent-controlled apartment.[11] The film never materialized, but it sparked his desire to become a full-time writer.[11] His first successful script wasRecount, a film about the2000 US Elections, produced byHBO and directed byJay Roach.[12] The film starredKevin Spacey,Laura Dern,Denis Leary,John Hurt andTom Wilkinson and premiered on May 25, 2008.[13] The script had been voted number one on the 2007 Hollywood Black List,[14] a list of the "most liked" but unproduced scripts as voted on by the Hollywood community and insiders.[15] Strong was nominated for a2008 Emmy Award forPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special forRecount. The film was nominated forBest Television Miniseries or Film at the66th Golden Globe Awards and won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie as well as theWriters Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay for a Television movie.[16]
Strong followed upRecount with the2012 film adaptation ofGame Change, based on the book written byJohn Heilemann andMark Halperin.[17] The film starredJulianne Moore and aired on HBO on March 10, 2012.[18] In 2012, he won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special forGame Change.[19] The film was also awarded aPeabody Award, which recognizes distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals.[20]
In February 2012, he was hired to write the screenplay for the film adaptation of Dan Brown'sThe Lost Symbol, whose production has been stalled since 2013.[21][22]
Strong wrote the screenplay for the filmThe Butler.[23]Oprah Winfrey andForest Whitaker starred in the film and it was directed byLee Daniels.[24] The script was voted onto the 2010 Hollywood Black List.[25] It was released in August 2013 and grossed over $100 million in the US box office.[26] He also had a cameo in the film.
I write characters of every race, gender and sexual orientation. I write some characters that are animals. That's just my job. To me, writing 'Empire' is not more difficult thanSarah Palin [in 'Game Change']. ... I mean, I'm not a Republican from Alaska.
In December 2013, Strong signed on to pen the new screenplay for the film adaptation of the musicalGuys and Dolls, which originally premiered onBroadway in 1950.[27] Strong also co-created the TV seriesEmpire with Daniels in 2014, for which he has written and directed multiple episodes.[28] He co-wrote the two-partMockingjay, the finale ofThe Hunger Games series.[29]Part 1 was released on November 21, 2014, andPart 2 was released on November 20, 2015.[30][31]
Strong createdDopesick, aHulu exclusive miniseries in October 2021 that explores theSackler family andPurdue Pharma's role in theopioid epidemic in the United States.[32] The series was influenced byBeth Macy's book by the same name and starredMichael Keaton, who earned aSAG award for his performance.[33] The critically acclaimed show was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards and won the Peabody Award along with many other awards and honors.
Strong wrotethe book for the rock musicalGalileo; it premiered atBerkeley Repertory Theatre and had a limited run in summer of 2024.[34] Strong also wrote the book for the late 2025Broadway revival ofChess in early 2025, after having written an earlier book and collaborating with directorMichael Mayer on a 2018 Kennedy Center production ofChess, the same director for the late 2025 Broadway revival. Previews of the Broadway revival of Chess begin on October 15, with opening night slated for November 16.
Strong made his directorial debut with thebiographical film on the life of authorJ. D. Salinger,Rebel in the Rye.[35] The film premiered at the2017 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed byIFC Films. He followed this up by directing the last two episodes of the award-winning limited seriesDopesick for he which he was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award and aDirectors Guild Award for Best Director of a Limited Series. He has also directed several episodes ofEmpire.
Strong became engaged to actress Caitlin Mehner on December 29, 2016, in Hawaii after meeting her three years earlier.[36]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Final Draft Awards | TV Writer of the Year | Dopesick | Won |
| TCA Awards | Best Limited Series | Won | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Limited Series | Nominated | ||
| Television Academy Honors | Won | |||
| Peabody Award | Won | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series | Nominated | |||
| USC Scripter Awards | Best TV Adaptation | Won | ||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Limited Series | Nominated | ||
| Directors Guild of America Award | Best Director of a Limited Series | Nominated | ||
| Final Draft Awards | Storyteller of the Year for Television | Won | ||
| GLAAD Awards | Best Limited Series | Nominated | ||
| Critics Choice Awards | Best Limited Series | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Drama Series | Empire | Won |
| NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | TCA Awards | Program of the Year | Won | |
| AFI Award | Television Program of the Year | Won | ||
| 2014 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture | The Butler | Nominated |
| Pell Center Prize for Story in the Public Square | Recognizing a contemporary storyteller whose work has had a significant impact on the public dialogue. | Game Change,Recount,The Butler | Won | |
| 2013 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Limited or Anthology Series or TV Film | Game Change | Won |
| Peabody Award | Won | |||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Long-Form TV | Won | ||
| Writers Guild of America Awards | TV: Long Form – Adapted | Won | ||
| PEN Center USA Awards | Best Teleplay | Won | ||
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding TV Movie | Won | |
| Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Won | |||
| American Film Institute Top 10 | TV Program of the Year | Won | ||
| 2009 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Long Form – Original | Recount | Won |
| 2008 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Nominated | |
| American Film Institute Top 10 | TV Program of the Year | Won |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
