Jeff Daniels

At 69 years old, Jeff Daniels has this physical status:

Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, singer, and playwright whose career includes appearances in films, stage, and television, for which he has received two Emmy Awards and several Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Tony Award nominations. He made his film debut in Ragtime (1981), Arachnophobia (1990), Good Night (1998), Incis (1996), Mr. The Martian (1994), The Lookout (2004), Kevin Jones (2008), John Carter (1993), and Michael Collins (1994). Daniels is also known for his role in Dumb and Dumber (1994) and its sequel Dumb and Dumber To (2014).

He was nominated for Best Actor for his appearances in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Something Wild (1986), and The Squid and the Whale (2005). Daniels has also received a number of accolades for his performances on stage, including Tony Award nominations for his roles in the films God of Carnage, Blackbird, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

He is the founder and current executive director of the Chelsea, Michigan-based Purple Rose Theatre Company. Daniels appeared in HBO's The Newsroom from 2012 to 2014, receiving the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe and Screen Actor Award nominations.

He received his second Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for his support in the Netflix miniseries Godless (2017) and an additional nomination in the Hulu miniseries The Looming Tower (2018).

Early life

Daniels was born in Athens, Georgia, to Marjorie J. Ferguson (née Ferguson) and Robert Lee "Bob" Daniels (1929–2012) Daniels, 1928–2012. He spent the first six weeks of his life in Georgia, where his father was then teaching, before returning to his parents' hometown Michigan, where he grew up in Chelsea. His father was the owner of the Chelsea Lumber Company and was a one-time mayor of the town.

Daniels was raised Methodist. He attended Central Michigan University for a short time and was active in the school's drama program. He attended The Eastern Michigan University drama school in 1976 to enroll in a special Bicentennial Repertory Course, where he appeared in The Hot l Baltimore and three other performances in repertoire. Marshall W. Mason was the guest director at EMU, and he invited Daniels to perform at the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York, where he appeared in fifth of July by Lanford Wilson in the 1977-1978 season. In The Shortchanged Review (1979) at Second Stage Theatre, Daniels appeared in New York. It was the first performance of the inaugural season for Second Stage Theatre.

Personal life

In 1986, he returned to Chelsea, Michigan, where he now resides there mainly. Daniels married his college sweetheart, Kathleen Rosemary Treado, a fellow Michigan resident also from Chelsea, in 1979. Benjamin (born 1984), Lucas (born 1987), and Nellie (born 1990).

Daniels appeared on CNBC as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's television spokesperson, promoting Michigan's success in bringing in new businesses. On May 25, 2006, in Lansing, Michigan, he was inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame, and he delivered the winter commencement address at the University of Michigan, where he was given an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts.

Daniels endorsed Joe Biden in the presidential election against Donald Trump in 2020. "America Needs Michigan," he narrated a Biden campaign ad, focusing on Michigan's swing state. "Michigan needs a president who believes in values such as decency, honesty, and respect," she said, adding that he voted for Biden.

In 2022, Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi, a nematode parasite that kills tarantulas, was named Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi to honor his role in Arachnophobia.

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Career

Daniels appeared in several New York productions from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, both on and off Broadway. He appeared on Broadway in Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July (1980), alongside William Hurt, for which Daniels was named for a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actor. He appeared in A. R. Gurney's The Golden Age (1984) with Stockard Channing.

In 1981, Daniels made his film debut in Milo Forman's Ragtime. In James L. Brooks' Terms of Endearment, he was the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Debra Winger) The film chronicles an emotional connection between mother (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter (Debra Winger). Daniels plays Winger's callow and unfaithful husband, a role that might be his crown jewel.

Daniels appeared in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose Of Cairo with Mia Farrow and Danny Aiello in 1985. With the consensus reading, "lighthearted and sweet, Purple Rose stands as one of Woody Allen's most unique – and enchantingly whimsical – photographs." Daniels received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in It was the film that inspired the name of the theatre company he founded.

He starred in Jonathan Demme's Anything Wild as an unassuming businessman and gained his second Golden Globe nomination in 1986.

Daniels continued his theater work with Redwood Curtain (1993), Off-Broadway, where he received a Drama Desk nomination and an Obie Award for his role in Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky, where he appeared in Johnny Got His Gun, a Musical Theatre Company production. Daniels appeared in an Off-Broadway production of David Harrower's Blackbird, alongside Allison Pill, with whom he would later reunite in Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom.

Daniels formed the Purple Rose Theatre Company, a non-profit stage company in Chelsea, Michigan, named after 1985 Woody Allen film The Purple Rose of Cairo, which Daniels appeared in. Daniels has written more than a dozen plays for the company.

Daniels appeared in two films (Love Hurts and The Butcher's Wife) in 1990. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of Gettysburg was his next significant role. In the prequel film Gods and Generals, Daniels recalled Chamberlain's role ten years ago.

In 1994, Daniels would co-star in Dumb and Dumber, one of Jim Carrier's most commercially lucrative films. Due to his fame as a dramatic actor, Daniels made it a notable departure. Daniels appeared alongside Keanu Reeves in the action blockbuster Speed in 1999; the film was a huge hit, grossing over $350 million at the box office.

Daniels will host Saturday Night Live for the second time after the introduction of the 1996 Disney live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians. In 2 days in the Valley, Daniels plays Alvin Strayer, a grungy cop, alongside Eric Stoltz. Daniels appeared as the owner of a litter of dalmatians robbed by Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close). The film was a hit, grossing $320 million. In 1996, the family hit film Fly Away Home with Daniels as the single father of Anna Paquin's goose-raising preteen. With Trial and Error (1997), Daniels experienced a personal and commercial misfire. Bill Johnson, the proprietor of Pleasantville in 1998, will return as an individual and rebellion against the norm at Tobey Maguire's behest. Pleasantville's also known for three Academy Awards, with Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen, and Don Knotts. In the critically acclaimed and commercially ineffective film My Favorite Martian, Daniels appeared alongside Christopher Lloyd.

Daniels appeared in the television series The Crossing, Cheaters, and the direct-to-video release Chasing Sleep. At this point, in the early 2000s, he began focusing more on his theater career at The Purple Rose Theatre in addition to writing, starring, and directing the Escanaba films Escanaba in da Moonlight and Super Sucker.

Daniels' next big film role in Clint Eastwood's Blood Work, which received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. Meryl Strobeep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman will all be back in the years next year with Stephen Daldry's Academy Award-winning The Hours. The film was also a financial success, grossing over $100 million. In 2003, Gods and Generals followed, as did the crime film I Witness, which co-starred James Spader. Daniels appeared in Imaginary Heroes and the 2004 television film version of fellow Michigander and friend Mitch Albom's book The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Daniels' year 2005 was a good year for him as the actor of Noah Baumbach's lauded Noah Baumbach film The Squid and the Whale with Laura Linney. Daniels received his third Golden Globe award for the film, which follows a divorced couple and the effects of the split on their children. During this year, Daniels appeared in the family film version of Because of Winn-Dixie. He will close the year off with a supporting role in George Clooney's Oscar-nominated film Good Night and Good Luck, starring David Straithairn, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella.

Daniels appeared in the Truman Capote biopic Infamous starring Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sigourney Weaver. Critics compared the film to Bennett Miller's 2005 film Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Chris Cooper.

Daniels appeared in Barry Sonnenfeld's family film RV, as the redneck comedic foil to Williams' uptight businessman. He also appeared in two other independent films, Mama's Boy and The Lookout, for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award.

He then returned to back-to-back supporting roles in political thrillers: Traitor with Don Cheadle and State of Play with Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, respectively. Daniels appeared in Away We Go back in 2009.

Daniels appeared in Yasmina Reza's original play God of Carnage starring Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, and Marcia Gay Harden in 2009. Two sets of parents who have agreed to meet as a result of a rivalry between their respective sons play the role. Their meeting starts out civilized, but as the evening progresses, the parents become more childish, resulting in the evening's devolving into chaos. In previews on February 28, 2009, and then on March 22, 2009. The original intention was intended for a limited engagement until July 19, 2009, before converting to an open-ended campaign. Daniels was nominated for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. The show received the Tony Award for Best Play.

Daniels continued his theater work in 2010 and appeared in the little-seen indie Howl, alongside James Franco as Allen Ginsberg.

Daniels appeared on the front pages of Guitar Aficionado magazine from April to May 2011, as well as the July–August 2011 issue of Making Music, where he spoke about his music experience. With the iPhone 5 ads in 2012, Daniels became Apple's new announcing voice.

Daniels saw a return to action in Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama series The Newsroom (2012–2014) as fictional news anchor Will McAvoy. More than 13 million times have watched the first scene of the pilot episode "We Just Decided To," in which Daniels gives a monologue on the state of American greatness. Despite mixed praise, Daniels received the Primetime Emmy Award for Leading Actor in a Drama Series for the first season. Daniels was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for two seasons. Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Sam Waterston, Olivia Munn, Alison Pill, Dev Patel, and Jane Fonda appeared on the program.

Daniels and Sorkin appeared together in the biographical drama film Steve Jobs, which stars Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet in 2015. He portrayed CEO John Sculley. Daniels performed alongside Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet, both of whom received Academy Award nominations for their performances. Danny Boyle, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, was interviewed and written by Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin. "Like the tech giant co-founded by its subject, Steve Jobs gathers brilliant people to produce a product whose simplicity belies its complex complexity at its core," the film's consensus readout said. Sorkin received the Golden Globe for its screenplay.

David in The Divergent Series: Allegiant was supposed to reprise his role in the upcoming The Divergent Series: Ascendant. Harry Dunne of Dumb and Dumber reunites him in 2014, reuniting with Jim Carne.

Daniels and Michelle Williams appeared in the Revival of David Harrower's Blackbird in 2016. The play depicts a young woman (Williams) meeting a middle-aged man (Daniels), 15 years after being sexually assaulted by him when she was 12 years old. The production opened on February 5, 2016 (37 previews), and then opened on March 10 (through June 11, 108 performances) where Joe Mantello directed it and received widespread critical acclaim. Daniels was nominated for his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Williams also received a Tony Award nomination.

Daniels appeared in Netflix's western miniseries Godless in 2017, where he portrayed Frank Griffin, the villain. He appeared alongside Michelle Dockery, Merritt Wever, and Sam Waterston. Daniels received critical acclaim for his work in a Miniseries and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Supporting Actor in a Miniseries. He received it.

The Looming Tower by Daniels' Hulu in 2018 chronicles the growing threat of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s, as well as how the FBI and CIA's interoperation during that period may have inadvertently laid the way for the 9/11 disaster. Daniels played John O'Neill, the head of the FBI's Counter-terrorism Center in New York. Bill Camp, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Peter Sarsgaard were among the ensemble's members. Daniels received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series, drawing widespread critical praise.

Daniels appeared in Atticus Finch in his stage version of To Kill a Mockingbird in 2018. The play premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. Previews began on November 1, 2018, ahead of its official opening on December 13, 2018. During the week ending on December 23, 2018, the production smashed the record for box office revenues for a non-musical performance in a Shubert Organization-owned theater. Daniels received his third Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Tony Award nominees have been given to eight others on the show. In June 2019, producer Scott Rudin announced that Daniels would leave the production in November 2019 and would be replaced by Ed Harris. Daniels' last appearance was on November 3, 2019.

Washington, D.C., was narrated by Daniels in his History Channel miniseries on George Washington, titled Washington (2020). On February 16, 2020, a three-part documentary series premiered.

Daniels portrayed FBI director James Comey in the 2 part limited series The Comey Rule, which premiered on Showtime on September 27, 2020. The initiative is based on Comey's memoir, A Higher Loyalty (2018), and was written and directed by Billy Ray. Brendan Gleeson, Jennifer Ehle, as Patrice Comey, Holly Hunter as Sally Yates, and Michael Kelly as Andrew McCabe appeared in the film. Daniels received critical acclaim for his work as Comey and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Showtime has been granted a straight-to-series order for American Rust, a drama based on Philipp Meyer's debut novel of the same name. Daniels is expected to executive produce the project and appear alongside Maura Tierney and Bill Camp.

Daniels will be returning to his role as Atticus Finch in the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, beginning in June 2021.

Daniels narrated Apple TV+'s 9/11: Inside the President's War Room, which was released on September 1, 2021.

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