1977–1989: Early roles and breakthrough Daniels starred in several New York productions, on and off Broadway. On Broadway, he made his debut as the assistant stage manager and various roles in the
Albert Innaurato play
Gemini (1977). He also acted in
Lanford Wilson's
Fifth of July (1980) alongside
William Hurt, for which he was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actor, and starred in
A. R. Gurney's
The Golden Age (1984) with
Stockard Channing. Daniels made his screen debut in
Miloš Forman's
Ragtime in 1981. His next film was in
James L. Brooks's
Terms of Endearment, which won the
Academy Award for Best Picture. The film follows an emotional relationship between mother (
Shirley MacLaine) and daughter (
Debra Winger). Daniels plays Winger's callow and unfaithful husband, a role which would prove to be his breakthrough. In 1985, Daniels starred in
Woody Allen's
Purple Rose of Cairo alongside
Mia Farrow and
Danny Aiello. The film was met with critical praise earning a 91% on
Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "lighthearted and sweet,
Purple Rose stands as one of Woody Allen's more inventive – and enchantingly whimsical – pictures." Daniels garnered a
Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. It was the film that inspired the name for the theater company he established. In 1986, he starred in
Jonathan Demme's
Something Wild as an unassuming businessman swept up into a wild night by a mysterious woman (
Melanie Griffith) and earned his second Golden Globe nomination. Also that year, Daniels had a supporting role alongside
Jack Nicholson and
Meryl Streep in
Heartburn, directed by
Mike Nichols. In 1988, he co-starred with
Kelly McGillis in
Peter Yates' neo-noir
The House on Carroll Street, and appeared in the ensemble dramedy
Sweet Hearts Dance with
Susan Sarandon,
Don Johnson and
Elizabeth Perkins. He had the lead in
Checking Out (1989), which received only a limited theatrical release.
1990–2008: Established actor In 1990, Daniels starred in the thriller
Arachnophobia. He also starred in a pair of romantic comedies,
Love Hurts (1990) and ''
The Butcher's Wife'' (1991), playing
Demi Moore's love interest in the latter. His sci-fi vehicle
Timescape (1992) went straight to video. His next significant role was as Colonel
Joshua Chamberlain in
Gettysburg (1993). Daniels reprised the role of Chamberlain 10 years later in the prequel film
Gods and Generals. Daniels continued his work in the theater with
Redwood Curtain (1993). Off-Broadway, he starred in
Lanford Wilson's
Lemon Sky with
Cynthia Nixon where he received a Drama Desk nomination for and an
Obie Award for his performance in the
Circle Repertory Company production of
Johnny Got His Gun. In 1994, Daniels co-starred with
Jim Carrey in one of his most commercially successful films,
Dumb and Dumber. It was a noted departure for Daniels, owing to his status as a dramatic actor. Earlier that year, Daniels appeared with
Keanu Reeves in the action blockbuster
Speed; the film was an enormous hit, grossing over $350 million at the box office. Daniels would then host
Saturday Night Live a second time before the release of the 1996
Disney live-action remake of
101 Dalmatians. Daniels starred as the owner of a litter of dalmatians stolen by the evil
Cruella De Vil (
Glenn Close). The film was successful, grossing $320 million. Daniels plays a grungy cop Alvin Strayer along with
Eric Stoltz in
2 Days in the Valley. Also in 1996 was the family hit film
Fly Away Home with Daniels as the supportive single father of
Anna Paquin's goose-raising preteen. Daniels then had a critical and commercial misfire with
Trial and Error (1997). He would rebound, however, with 1998's
Pleasantville as diner owner Bill Johnson, who learns to act as an individual and rebel against the norm at the urging of
Tobey Maguire's David. Also starring
Reese Witherspoon,
Joan Allen, and
Don Knotts,
Pleasantville was nominated for three Academy Awards. Daniels starred alongside
Christopher Lloyd's comedy
My Favorite Martian. Daniels starred in the TV films
The Crossing,
Cheaters, and the direct-to-video release
Chasing Sleep. At this point, in the early 2000s, he began to focus more on his theater work at The
Purple Rose Theatre as well as writing, starring, and directing the films
Escanaba in da Moonlight and
Super Sucker. Daniels's next major film role would be in
Clint Eastwood's
Blood Work, which received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. He would rebound later that year with
Stephen Daldry's Academy Award-winning
The Hours alongside
Meryl Streep,
Julianne Moore, and
Nicole Kidman. The film was also a financial success, grossing well over $100 million.
Gods and Generals followed in 2003, as did the action film
I Witness, which co-starred
James Spader. Daniels then starred in
Imaginary Heroes and the 2004 television film adaptation of fellow Michigander and friend
Mitch Albom's bestseller
The Five People You Meet in Heaven. The year 2005 proved to be a strong year for Daniels as he garnered notice as the star of the lauded
Noah Baumbach film
The Squid and the Whale with
Laura Linney. Daniels received his third
Golden Globe nomination for the film, about a divorcing couple and the effect the split has on their children. That year Daniels also starred in the family film adaptation of
Because of Winn-Dixie. He would round out the year 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. In 2006, Daniels appeared in the
Truman Capote biopic
Infamous starring
Toby Jones,
Sandra Bullock,
Gwyneth Paltrow, and
Sigourney Weaver. The film was compared by critics to
Bennett Miller's 2005 film
Capote starring
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Catherine Keener, and
Chris Cooper. Daniels then starred in
Barry Sonnenfeld's family film
RV (2006), alongside
Robin Williams, as the redneck comic foil to Williams' uptight businessman. Daniels appeared in an Off-Broadway production of
David Harrower's
Blackbird in 2007 alongside
Allison Pill, with whom he would later reunite in
Aaron Sorkin's
The Newsroom. He also starred in two 2007 independent films, ''
Mama's Boy and The Lookout,
for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award, and Traitor'' (2008) with
Don Cheadle.
2009–2015: Resurgence with The Newsroom '' at the 2013
PaleyFest In 2009, after a 16-year-long absence, Daniels returned to Broadway in
Yasmina Reza's original play
God of Carnage alongside
Hope Davis,
James Gandolfini, and
Marcia Gay Harden. The play centers around two sets of parents who agree to meet because of a fight among their respective sons. Their meeting starts out civilized, however, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening's devolving into chaos. The play debuted at The
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in previews on February 28, 2009, and officially on March 22, 2009. Originally planned for a limited engagement to close July 19, 2009, the run was extended through February 28, 2010, before converting to an open-ended run. Daniels received his first
Tony Award nomination, for
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. The show won the
Tony Award for Best Play. That same year Daniels acted in four indie hit films
State of Play,
The Answer Man,
Away We Go, and
Paper Man. In 2010, Daniels continued his theater work and had a starring role in the little-seen indie
Howl, alongside
James Franco as
Allen Ginsberg. Daniels was featured on the cover of the April–May 2011 issue of
Guitar Aficionado magazine as well as the July–August 2011 issue of
Making Music, where he discussed his experiences with music. In 2012, Daniels became the new announcing voice for
Apple with the
iPhone 5 ads, and appeared in the sci-fi action film
Looper. Daniels had a career resurgence with his turn in
Aaron Sorkin's
HBO drama series
The Newsroom (2012–2014) as fictional news anchor Will McAvoy. The opening scene of the pilot episode "
We Just Decided To", in which Daniels gives a monologue on the state of American greatness, has been viewed more than 23 million times. While the show received mixed reviews, Daniels won the
Primetime Emmy Award for
Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the first season. The series ran for two more seasons, for which Daniels was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award. The show also starred
Emily Mortimer,
John Gallagher Jr.,
Sam Waterston,
Olivia Munn,
Alison Pill,
Dev Patel, and
Jane Fonda. In 2014, he reprised his role as Harry Dunne in
Dumb and Dumber To reuniting with
Jim Carrey. In 2015, Daniels reunited with Sorkin in the biographical drama film
Steve Jobs, portraying
CEO John Sculley. Daniels starred alongside
Michael Fassbender, and
Kate Winslet, both of whom received
Academy Award nominations for their performances. The film was directed by
Academy Award-winner
Danny Boyle and written by
Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin. The film was a critical success earning an 86% on
Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "Like the tech giant co-founded by its subject, Steve Jobs gathers brilliant people to deliver a product whose elegance belies the intricate complexities at its core." Sorkin won the
Golden Globe for its screenplay. Also in 2015, he played NASA Administrator Teddy Sanders in
Ridley Scott's sci-fi drama film
The Martian.
2016–present: Career expansion '' at the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival In 2016, Daniels returned to Broadway in the Revival of
David Harrower's
Blackbird alongside
Michelle Williams. The play depicts a young woman (Williams) meeting a middle-aged man (Daniels), 15 years after being sexually abused by him when she was twelve. The play ran at the
Belasco Theatre on February 5, 2016 (37 previews), and opened officially on March 10 (through June 11, 108 performances) where it was directed by
Joe Mantello and received widespread critical acclaim. In 2017, Daniels starred in
Netflix's western miniseries
Godless where he portrayed the villain Frank Griffin. He starred alongside
Michelle Dockery,
Merritt Wever, and
Sam Waterston. Daniels won critical praise for his performance and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for
Supporting Actor in a Miniseries, which he won. In 2018, Daniels's
Hulu miniseries
The Looming Tower traces the rising threat of
Osama bin Laden and
Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and how the rivalry between the
FBI and
CIA during that time may have inadvertently set the path for the tragedy of
9/11. Daniels played
John O'Neill, the chief of the
New York FBI's
Counter-terrorism Center. The ensemble included
Bill Camp,
Michael Stuhlbarg, and
Peter Sarsgaard. Daniels won widespread critical acclaim and received a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Best Actor in a Limited Series. In 2018, Daniels starred as
Atticus Finch, reuniting with
Aaron Sorkin in his stage adaptation of
To Kill a Mockingbird. The play opened on Broadway at the
Shubert Theatre. The production began previews on November 1, 2018, prior to its official opening on December 13, 2018. During the week ending on December 23, 2018, the production grossed over $1.5 million, breaking the record for box office grosses for a non-musical play in a theater owned by
The Shubert Organization. Daniels received his third
Tony Award nomination for
Best Actor in a Play. The show received 8 other Tony Award nominations. In June 2019, producer
Scott Rudin announced that Daniels would leave the production in November 2019 and would be succeeded by
Ed Harris. His last performance was on November 3, 2019. Daniels narrated the
History Channel miniseries on
George Washington titled
Washington (2020). The 3-part documentary series premiered on February 16, 2020. On September 27, 2020, Daniels portrayed
FBI director James Comey in the 2-part limited series,
The Comey Rule which debuted on
Showtime. The project is based on Comey's memoir,
A Higher Loyalty (2018), and was written and directed by
Billy Ray. The cast included
Brendan Gleeson as
Donald Trump,
Jennifer Ehle as Patrice Comey,
Holly Hunter as
Sally Yates, and
Michael Kelly as
Andrew McCabe. Daniels won critical praise for his performance as Comey and received a
Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2019, it was announced that
Showtime had given a straight-to-series order to
American Rust, a drama based on
Philipp Meyer’s debut
novel of the same name. Daniels was an executive producer on the project and starred alongside
Maura Tierney and
Bill Camp. In June 2021, it was announced that Daniels would be returning to his role of Atticus Finch in the
Broadway production of
To Kill a Mockingbird starting in October. Daniels narrated the 9/11 documentary from Apple TV+ entitled ''
9/11: Inside the President's War Room''; it was released on September 1, 2021. In 2026, he has made recurring appearance as Jimmy’s father in the Apple TV+ show
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