
Person
Ben Daniels
Acting · Born 1964-06-10 · Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, UK
Biography
Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is a British actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), he has taken on roles in numerous productions. On television he has appeared in, among other shows, The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), Conspiracy (2001), Cutting It (2002–2005), Ian Fleming: Bondmaker (2005), The Virgin Queen (2005) and The State Within (2006). On the silver screen, Daniels has appeared mostly in supporting roles, including parts in The Bridge (1992), Beautiful Thing (1996), I Want You (1998), Madeline (1998) and Doom (2005). An exception was the 1997 independent film Passion in the Desert, based on a short story by novelist Honoré de Balzac. 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." Daniels was educated at Manor Park School, a state comprehensive school in Nuneaton, near Coventry, in Warwickshire (since closed). 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. 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". Daniels subsequently trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for three years. Daniels has had most success with theatre work. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Evening Standard Awards for 900 Oneonta (1994), for Best Actor in the M.E.N. Theatre Awards for Martin Yesterday (1998), and for Best Supporting Actor in the 15th Laurence Olivier Awards for Never the Sinner (1991). He eventually won the latter award at the 25th Laurence Olivier Awards (2001), as well as the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2001 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Theatre Awards, for his performance in the Arthur Miller play All My Sons. Other theatre credits include Tales From Hollywood (2001), Three Sisters (2003), Iphigenia at Aulis (2004), The God of Hell (2005), The Wild Duck (2005–2006) and Thérèse Raquin (2006). In 2008 Daniels made his Broadway début with American actress Laura Linney in a revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
Known for

The Simpsons
Irish Priest (voice)

The Crown
Lord Snowdon

Silent Witness
1996

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Círdan

Casualty
Graham Marda

Foundation
Bel Riose

House of Cards
Adam Galloway

Agatha Christie's Marple
Alfred Crackenthorpe

Spooks
Oleg Korsakov

Merlin
Tristan
Filmography
- 2026National Theatre Live: Man and BoyGregor Antonescu
- 2024ArgylleBartender
- 2022Interview with the VampireSantiago
- 2022Andor: A Disney+ Day Special LookAntoc Merrick (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2022The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerCírdan
- 2021BenedictionDr. Rivers
- 2021FoundationBel Riose
- 2021Jupiter's LegacyWalter Sampson / Brainwave
- 2019Captive StateDaniel
- 2018Jesus Christ Superstar Live in ConcertPontius Pilate
- 2017The ExceptionCol Sigurd von Ilsemann
- 2016Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryGeneral Merrick
- 2016The CrownLord Snowdon
- 2016The Exorcist: Making the DemonsSelf
- 2016The ExorcistFather Marcus Brennan
- 2015Flesh and BonePaul
- 2015CasanovaFrancois-Joachim de Bernis
- 2015CasanovaFrancois-Joachim de Bernis
- 2015Lunacy: The Making of Luna
- 2014LunaGrant
- 2014Jamaica InnFrancis Davey
- 2014LockeGareth (voice)
- 2013The Wipers TimesLieutenant Colonel Howfield
- 2013Jack the Giant SlayerFumm
- 2013House of CardsAdam Galloway
- 2012The ParadiseTom Weston
- 2012The Hollow CrownBuckingham
- 2011Women in LoveWill Brangwen
- 2009The Last Days of Lehman BrothersJohn Thain
- 2009Moving OnJohn Murphy
- 2009Law & Order: UKJames Steel
- 2008MerlinTristan
- 2008The PassionCaiaphas
- 2008Lark Rise to Candleford
- 2007Who Killed Mrs De Ropp?Saki
- 2006The State WithinNicholas Brocklehurst
- 2006The Virgin QueenFrancis Walsingham
- 2005DoomGoat
- 2005Ian Fleming: BondmakerIan Fleming
- 2004Agatha Christie's MarpleAlfred Crackenthorpe
- 2003Real MenDI Matthew Fenton
- 2002SpooksOleg Korsakov
- 2002FogboundLeo
- 2002Cutting ItFinn Bevan
- 2002Real Men
- 2001ConspiracyJosef Bühler
- 2001Married/UnmarriedDanny
- 2000BritannicTownsend
- 1999Fanny & ElvisAndrew
- 1999AristocratsLord Kildare
- 1998MadelineLeopold the Tutor
- 1998I Want YouBob
- 1997Passion in the DesertAugustin Robert
- 1997DavidJonatan
- 1996Beautiful ThingTony
- 1996Silent Witness
- 1996Truth or DareBen
- 1994W.S.H.: The Myth of the Urban Myth
- 1994Outside EdgeAlex Harrington
- 1992A Touch of FrostRoger Massie
- 1992The Lost Language of CranesRobin Bradley
- 1992The BridgeRogers
- 1991Soldier SoldierCapt Andy Wright
- 1990Drop the Dead Donkey
- 1989The SimpsonsIrish Priest (voice)
- 1989The Paradise ClubDC Webster
- 1988Wall of TyrannyStriemer
- 1988The Modern World: Ten Great WritersHans Castorp
- 1987Wish You Were HereMaisie Mathews
- 1987The Fourth ProtocolBoy in Photo (uncredited)
- 1986CasualtyGraham Marda
- 1956Tony AwardsSelf - Nominee
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