Dan Stevens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Stevens
Stevens in 2024
Born	Daniel Jonathan Stevens (1982-10-10) 10 October 1982 (age 42) London, England
Education	Emmanuel College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999-present
Spouse(s)	Susie Hariet ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3

Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He is famous for many roles in movies and TV shows.

You might know him as Matthew Crawley from the TV series Downton Abbey. He also played the Beast in Disney's live-action movie Beauty and the Beast. He was Sir Lancelot in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. Dan Stevens also starred as David in the thriller movie The Guest. He played a Russian singer named Alexander Lemtov in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. From 2017 to 2019, he was David Haller in the TV series Legion. In 2024, he starred as Trapper in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Early life

Dan Stevens was adopted when he was born. His parents were both teachers. He grew up in Wales and southeast England. He has a younger brother, Jason, who was adopted from different parents.

Dan went to Tonbridge School, a private school, on a scholarship. There, he became very interested in acting. He tried out for the main part in a play called Macbeth. When he was 15, he spent his summers training with the National Youth Theatre in London.

He studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was part of a comedy group called the Footlights. He also acted in plays with the Marlowe Society. A famous director, Peter Hall, first noticed him in a play. Dan was playing Macbeth, and Peter Hall's daughter, Rebecca Hall, was also in the play.

Career

In 2004, Dan Stevens started his acting career. Peter Hall cast him as Orlando in Shakespeare's play As You Like It. This play toured to many places, including New York City and Los Angeles. His first performance got great reviews from critics in Britain and the United States. He even received an award nomination for it.

In 2006, Dan starred as Nick Guest in a BBC TV show called The Line of Beauty. Later that year, he acted in a play called Hay Fever with famous actors like Dame Judi Dench. He also played Lord Holmwood in a BBC movie about Dracula. That same year, he was named one of Screen International's "Stars Of Tomorrow."

In 2008, Dan appeared in another BBC show, Sense & Sensibility. He played Edward Ferrars. In 2009, he was in a TV movie called Agatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis. He also appeared in The Turn of the Screw with Michelle Dockery, who would later be his co-star. In June 2009, he returned to the West End to star in a play called Arcadia.

In 2010, Dan got his biggest role yet. He was cast as Matthew Crawley in the ITV series Downton Abbey. This show became a huge hit around the world. The love story between Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery) was very popular. Dan decided to leave the show after the third season in 2012. Many fans were upset when his character died on the show.

In 2012, Dan moved to New York City with his family. He made his first appearance on Broadway in a play called The Heiress. He acted alongside Jessica Chastain.

In 2014, he starred in the movie The Guest. He was nominated for an award for his acting in this film. He also appeared in The Cobbler with Adam Sandler. He played a copy of Sir Lancelot in the comedy movie Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. He acted with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams in that movie.

In 2016, Dan Stevens was chosen for the main role of David Charles Haller. This was for the FX series Legion, which is based on X-Men comics. The show started in 2017 and was very popular with critics. It ran for three seasons.

In 2017, Dan played the Beast in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast. Emma Watson played Belle. The movie was a huge success, earning over $1.2 billion worldwide. It was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2017. That same year, he also appeared in Marshall and The Man Who Invented Christmas. In the latter, he played Charles Dickens.

Stevens at the 2019 WonderCon promoting Legion.

In 2018, Dan starred in the Netflix thriller movie Apostle. In 2019, he was in the drama Lucy in the Sky with Natalie Portman.

In 2020, Dan co-starred with Harrison Ford in The Call of the Wild. This movie was based on a classic book by Jack London. He also returned to Broadway for a play called Hangmen. However, the play had to close early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Dan played a robot in a German science fiction movie called I'm Your Man. In 2022, he voiced the villain Admiral Hornagold in the animated movie The Sea Beast on Netflix.

In 2024, Dan Stevens starred in the horror movie Cuckoo. He also played a leading role as a veterinarian named Trapper in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. He appeared as Frank, a former police detective, in the movie Abigail.

He has more movies coming out soon, including Swiped and The Ritual. He will also be a lead actor and producer for the third season of the TV series The Terror.

Other work

Dan Stevens has narrated over 30 audiobooks. These include famous books like Casino Royale and War Horse. In 2014, he was nominated for two Audie Awards for his narration of Frankenstein.

Outside of acting, Dan enjoys writing and literature. He helped start an online magazine called The Junket in 2011. He was also a judge for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, a major book award. He wrote columns for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

He loves cricket and played for the Authors XI team in 2012. This team is made up of famous British writers. He even wrote a chapter in the team's book about their cricket season.

Personal life

In 2009, Dan Stevens married Susie Hariet. She is a jazz singer and singing teacher from South Africa. They have three children together. Dan can speak English, French, and German fluently.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

Stage

Audiobook narrator

Radio and audio drama

Podcasts

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Dan Stevens para niños