In 2023 he played the character of General Bel Riose in the Apple TV+ science fiction series Foundation.[5]
Early life
Daniels was born on 10 June 1964 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.[6] His father was an engineer at Rolls-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 in Nuneaton, near Coventry, in Warwickshire (since closed).[8] According to Daniels, drama lessons at O-levels gave him a voice, and when he attended sixth form studies at Stratford College between 1980 and 1982, doing A-levels in theatre studies and English literature, he attended Royal 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 the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for three years.[6][9]
Career
One of Daniels' earliest roles was as Justin Hayward, the lead singer of the 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 show Casualty, playing the co-pilot of the doomed plane. He has taken on parts in many British television dramas, such as Robin in The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), the Biblical character Jonathan in the 1997 Emmy-nominated TV film David, the philandering Finn Bevan in Cutting It (2002–2005), and Nicholas Brocklehurst in the BBC television miniseries The 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 in Lark Rise to Candleford, a BBC production based on three semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside written by Flora Thompson.
Daniels may be most recognisable to American audiences for appearing in the 1996 film Beautiful Thing. Daniels portrayed Tony, boyfriend of Sandra, the protagonist Jamie's mother. In an independent film directed by Lavinia Currier titled Passion in the Desert (1997), Daniels played a French soldier named Augustin Robert.[13] The film was nominated for a Golden Seashell award. Other feature films that Daniels has starred in are The Bridge (1992), I Want You (1998), Madeline (1998), and Doom (2005). He was offered roles in the 2000 releases The Patriot and Vertical 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 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[15]
Daniels played a reoccurring role in the Netflix series House of Cards (2013-2014) as prominent photographer Adam Galloway.
He also played the role of lawyer Rory Murray in the second season of "Passenger List", a fictional podcast produced by Radiotopia.
Personal life
Daniels has been in a relationship with actor Ian Gelder since 1993.[27][7] They met during the production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane. The couple reside in South 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 huge homophobic backlash". He decided to reveal his homosexuality at the age of 24, while appearing in an all-star benefit performance of Martin Sherman's Bent.
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 serious BBC 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 by The Independent on Sunday,[29] down from number 47 in 2006.[30]
In his spare time, he is an amateur painter and a practitioner of Ashtanga yoga.[14] From a young age to his early forties, Daniels suffered from sleep paralysis.[31]
Nominated – Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best TV Supporting Actor (2017)[40][41] Won – Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series (2017)[42][43]
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