Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels is an actor, musician and playwright whose versatile career has spanned more than four decades across film, television and stage. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards and earned multiple nominations for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Tony Awards, establishing himself as one of the most accomplished performers of his generation.

Daniels made his film debut in Miloš Forman’s 1981 drama “Ragtime” and quickly built a reputation for memorable performances throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in James L. Brooks’ “Terms of Endearment,” Woody Allen’s “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” and Mike Nichols’ “Heartburn,” before taking on roles in the war epic “Gettysburg” and the blockbuster thriller “Speed.” In 1994, he achieved widespread success with the hit comedy “Dumb and Dumber” opposite Jim Carrey, a role that showcased his knack for physical humor and impeccable timing. He later appeared in the live-action Disney film “101 Dalmatians” and the 1998 fantasy drama “Pleasantville.”

Throughout the 2000s, Daniels earned critical acclaim in a range of films, including Stephen Daldry’s drama “The Hours,” Noah Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale,” George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and the Truman Capote biopic “Infamous.” His later work included roles in the science fiction thriller “Looper,” Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs,” and Ridley Scott’s “The Martian,” further underscoring his ability to balance independent dramas with major studio productions.

On television, Daniels is best known for his performance as Will McAvoy in the HBO series “The Newsroom,” which earned him the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He won a second Emmy Award in 2018 for his supporting role in the Netflix western miniseries “Godless,” while also receiving a nomination that same year for his portrayal of counterterrorism expert John P. O’Neill in Hulu’s “The Looming Tower.” In 2020, he played former FBI director James Comey in the Showtime political drama “The Comey Rule.”

Daniels has also earned distinction on stage, with Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage,” David Harrower’s “Blackbird” and Aaron Sorkin’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” in which he starred as Atticus Finch. Beyond his own career, he is the founder and executive director of the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Michigan, which has become a cornerstone for developing new American plays and nurturing emerging talent.

Daniels starred as Charlie Croker in the Netflix limited series “A Man in Full,” which premiered in May 2024. Created by David E. Kelley and directed by Regina King and Thomas Schlamme, the six-episode drama featured Daniels in a commanding and complex lead role at the center of a high-stakes financial fall from grace.

He also appeared in the second season of the drama series “American Rust: Broken Justice,” released in March 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. Despite its continuation from the original series, the show was not renewed for a third season.

Daniels is set to portray President Ronald Reagan in the forthcoming historical film “Reykjavik,” which dramatizes the 1986 summit between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev—a high-profile role that highlights his continued presence in both screen and historical drama.