Daniel Davis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniel Davis
Davis in 2016
Born	(1945-11-26) November 26, 1945 (age 79) Gurdon, Arkansas, U.S.
Other names	Danny Davis
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–present

Daniel Davis (born November 26, 1945) is an American actor. He has worked in movies, on stage, and on television.

Davis is most famous for playing Niles the butler in the TV show The Nanny. This show ran from 1993 to 1999. He also played Professor Moriarty in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He even played this role again in Star Trek: Picard. For both of these famous roles, he used a very convincing English accent. He also voiced a smart caveman named Longhair in the Longhair and Doubledome cartoons.

Early life and education

Daniel Davis was born on November 26, 1945, in Gurdon, Arkansas. He grew up in Little Rock. His parents owned a movie theater. His first acting job was when he was only 11 years old. He was in a local TV show called Betty's Little Rascals.

Davis finished Hall High School in Little Rock in 1964. He then studied at the Arkansas Arts Center. He earned a degree in fine arts. After that, he worked with famous theater groups. These included the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He also spent six years with the American Conservatory Theater (ACT). While at ACT, he taught acting classes to others.

Career

Television and film

Davis first became well-known on daytime TV. He played Elliot Carrington on the soap opera Texas. This show was a spin-off of Another World. He was on Texas from 1980 to 1981. In 1985, he appeared in an episode of The A-Team.

Davis played his most famous character, Niles the Butler, on The Nanny. He was on the show for its entire run, from 1993 to 1999. He also appeared in the reunion special in 2004. Niles was known for his funny, quick jokes. He often made fun of the character C. C. Babcock. Niles and C.C. eventually fell in love and got married in the show's last season.

Daniel Davis's natural accent is from the Southern United States. However, his English accent as Niles was so good that many people thought he was actually English. He also used an English accent as Professor Moriarty in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But in the 1990 movie The Hunt for Red October, he used his own American accent. He voiced the character Longhair with an English accent in the Longhair and Doubledome cartoons in 2000.

In 2002, Davis was a guest star on the TV show Frasier. He played Dr. Shafer in one episode. He also appeared briefly in the 2006 movie The Prestige. In 2008, he guest-starred on the TV show Ugly Betty.

In 2012, he recorded the audiobook for the Star Wars novel Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. Davis returned to play Professor Moriarty again in the third season of Star Trek: Picard in 2023.

Theatre

Davis is also a very experienced stage actor. He has performed in many plays on Broadway and off-Broadway in New York. He has also acted at the Guthrie Theater in Minnesota.

His first Broadway role was in the play Amadeus in 1980. He played Antonio Salieri. In 2000, Davis was nominated for a Tony Award. This award was for his role in the Broadway play Wrong Mountain. He played Oscar Wilde in The Invention of Love in 2001. In 2004, he played George Bernard Shaw in the musical The Frogs.

In July 2008, he played King Lear at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. In 2012, he played Prospero in The Tempest. In 2015, Davis starred in a special performance of Love Letters. He acted alongside his Nanny co-star, Lauren Lane. In 2016, he appeared on Broadway in the play Noises Off.

Filmography

Film

TV

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Davis para niños