Jeff Daniels

Daniels got married to his college sweetheart in Kathleen Rosemary Treado, in 1979. The couple has three children, Benjamin, Lucas, and Nellie.

Jeff Warren Daniels was born in Athens, Georgia, on 19 February 1955 to Robert Lee Daniels and Marjorie J. His father was a teacher as well as the owner of a lumber company.

A few weeks after his birth, his family moved to Michigan. He attended the Central Michigan University, and was involved with the school’s theater program as well. However, in his junior year itself, he decided to drop out. He moved to New York to work with the Circle Repertory Company.

Jeff Daniels made his stage debut with the play ‘Fifth of July’ in 1976. After that, he acted in several other plays such as ‘Lemon Sky’ for which he received a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actor, and ‘Johnny Got his Gun’ for which he won an ‘Obie Award.’

His made his film debut with a supporting role in the 1981 American drama ‘Ragtime’, which was directed by Miloš Forman. The film starred actors such as James Cagney, Fran Drescer, and Frankie Faison.

His next appearance was in 1983 in the Oscar award-winning movie ‘Terms of Endearment’, a comedy drama, in which he played a supporting role. His next movie was ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’, a 1985 American romantic comedy, which was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film won several awards and earned Daniels a nomination for the Golden Globe Awards.

Jeff Daniels earned more fame and success in the 1990s, appearing in several hit films such as the horror comedy ‘Arachnophobia’ (1990), the sci-fi movie ‘Timescape’ (1992), the well-known hit comedy ‘Dumb and Dumber’ (1994) for which he earned massive fame, the family drama ‘Fly Away Home’ (1996), and the comedy drama ‘Pleasantville’ (1998).

Over the next decade, he continued to appear in several successful movies such as ‘The Hours’ a 2002 British American drama film, ‘The Lookout’ a 2007 American crime film, and ‘Howl’, a 2010 American experimental film.

’Arachnophobia’, a 1990 American horror film which was directed by Frank Marshall, was the one of the most significant works of Jeff Daniels’ career. It also earned him the Saturn Award for best actor. The story focuses on a newly discovered Venezuelan spider, which is being transported to a small American town that produces a new species of deadly spiders. The film turned out to be a commercial success, and received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Daniels played one of the two lead roles (other was played by Jim Carrey) in the 1994 American comedy ‘Dumb and Dumber’. The film is about two unintelligent friends who set out on a trip to return a briefcase full of money back to its owner, but are pursued by a group of criminals. The film was a commercial hit, and also earned a cult status. A sequel was released after 20 years, in 2014 named ‘Dumb and Dumber to’.

Another significant work in Daniels’ career is the 2005 American comedy-drama ‘The Squid and the Whale’ directed by Noah Baumbach. The story is about two boys dealing with their parents’ divorce. The movie was a huge success, earning Daniels and his co-stars the Gotham Award for Best Cast, along with four other award nominations.

'The Newsroom' an American TV political drama, which started airing on HBO from June 2012, was Daniels’ first significant work on television. The show, in which he played the lead role as Will McAvoy, became hugely popular, and won him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, along with four other award nominations. Other cast members included Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr. Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, and Dev Patel.