Daniel Davis (actor)
Daniel Davis | |
|---|---|
| File:Niles (The Nanny).jpg Daniel Davis as Niles the Butler | |
| Born | Daniel Davis |
| Years active | 1971— present |
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Daniel Davis (born November 26, 1945 in Gurdon, Arkansas) is an American actor who is best perhaps known for portraying Niles the Butler on the sitcom The Nanny.
Early life
Davis first became interested in acting at a young age, when his parents operated and owned a movie theatre. He specifically enjoyed Tyrone Power movies, stating later that this inspired his desire to act. His first acting job was at the age of 11, when he was cast on a local Little Rock broadcast program called Betty's Little Rascals. He then studied at the Arkansas Arts Center, followed by work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and six years with the American Conservatory Theatre. He also taught acting while with the A.C.T.
Acting Career
Davis' natural accent is Southern American, however his English accent as "Niles" was so accurate that many viewers have become convinced that Davis is actually English. This also stems from Davis being cast as Professor Moriarty in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Elementary, Dear Data" and speaking with a perfect Victorian accent. Coincidently, during the same time in Davis's career, he was cast as CO of the USS Enterprise in the film The Hunt for Red October where he speaks in his regular voice with no accent.
The character Niles is mostly the comic relief, frequently using deadpan one-liners. Davis first became popular in daytime television, playing Beverlee McKinsey's love interest, Eliot Carrington, for two years on the soap opera Texas in the early 1980s.
At the 2000 Tony Awards, Davis was recognised with a nomination for "Best Actor" for his role in Wrong Mountain. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Davis guest starred as Professor Moriarty in the episodes "Elementary, Dear Data" and "Ship in a Bottle". He appeared in the movie The Hunt for Red October as Charlie Davenport, the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He appeared in the musical La Cage Aux Folles with Gary Beach from November 2004 to March 2005, along with many other theater roles.
Davis briefly appeared in the 2006 film release of The Prestige directed by Christopher Nolan.
Davis was among the odd assortment of celebrities featured lipsynching to The Bee Gees Stayin' Alive on the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol on March 25, 2007.
External links
- Daniel Davis on TV.com
- Daniel Davis at IMDb
- Daniel Davis at the Internet Broadway Database
- Daniel Davis (actor) at Memory Alpha