
Jeff Daniels
Biography
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan. He has performed in a number of stage productions, both on and off Broadway. He has been nominated for the Tony Award as Best Actor for the Broadway play God of Carnage (2009), along with his other three cast-mates.
He has had a thriving film career, from his debut in 1981 in Ragtime, through State of Play in 2009. For his film work, he has received three Golden Globe Award nominations, including as Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (hence the name of his theatre company). He has also received nominations by the Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Awards, and several for his work in The Squid and the Whale (London Critics Circle Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Chlotrudis Awards and Gotham Awards).
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Known For
Acting History
2025
The American Revolution as Thomas Jefferson (voice)
2025The American Revolution as voice
2025Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words as Self
2024Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story as Self
2024A Man in Full as Charlie Croker
2023Bye Bye Barry as Self
2023The American Buffalo as (voice)
2023The Saint of Second Chances as Narrator (voice)
2023Shrinking
2021American Rust as Det. Del Harris
20219/11: Inside the President's War Room as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age as Self
2021Hemingway as Ernest Hemingway (voice)
2020The Comey Rule as James Comey
2020Adam as Mickey
2020Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party as Himself
2020Washington as Self - Narrator
2019The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
2019Guest Artist as Joseph Harris
2018The Emperor's Newest Clothes as The Emperor
2018The Catcher Was a Spy as Bill Donovan
2018The Russian Five as self
2018The Looming Tower as John O'Neill
2017Godless as Frank Griffin
2017Broadway: The Next Generation as Self
2017Rolling Stone: Stories From the Edge as Narrator
2016Allegiant as David
2015Steve Jobs as John Sculley
2015The Martian as Theodore "Teddy" Sanders
2015The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
2015Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
2015ARES: live as Teddy Sanders
2015"That's Awesome!": The Story of 'Dumb and Dumber To' as Self
2015Of Miracles and Men as Self - Narrator
2014Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
2014Dumb and Dumber To as Harry Dunne
2014The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
2014Off Camera with Sam Jones as Self
2013James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend as Self
2012Looper as Abe
2012The Newsroom as Will McAvoy
2011Impractical Jokers as Self
2010Howl as Professor David Kirk
2009Paper Man as Richard Dunn
2009Away We Go as Jerry Farlander
2009State of Play as George Fergus
2009The Answer Man as Arlen Faber
2008Traitor as Carter
2008Space Chimps as Zartog (voice)
2008A Plumm Summer as Narrator
2008Sweet Nothing in My Ear as Dan Miller
2007Mama's Boy as Mert Rosenbloom
2007The Lookout as Lewis
2007The Graham Norton Show as Self
2006Infamous as Alvin Dewey
2006Robin Williams: A Family Affair as Self
2006Barry Sonnenfeld: The Kosher Cowboy as Self
2006RV Nation: The Culture of Road Warriors as Self
2006RV as Travis Gornicke
2006Still Dumb After All These Years as Self
2005The Colbert Report as Self
2005The Squid and the Whale as Bernard Berkman
2005Good Night, and Good Luck. as Sig Mickelson
2005Because of Winn-Dixie as Preacher
2005The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
2004The Five People You Meet In Heaven as Blue Man
2004Remembering Ragtime as P. C. O'Donnell (archive footage)
2004Imaginary Heroes as Ben Travis
2004The Goodbye Girl as Elliot Garfield
2004Dumb and Dumber - Making Of as Self
2003Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2003The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
2003I Witness as James Rhodes
2003Gods and Generals as Lt. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
2003Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
2002The Hours as Louis Waters
2002Blood Work as Jasper 'Buddy' Noone
2002Super Sucker as Fred Barlow
2001Chasing Sleep as Ed Saxon
2001Escanaba in da Moonlight as Rueben Soady
2000Cheaters as Dr. Gerard Plecki
2000The Crossing as Gen. George Washington
1999It's the Rage as Warren Harding
1999My Favorite Martian as Tim O'Hara
1999Family Guy as Jeff Daniels (voice)
1998Pleasantville as Mr. Johnson
1998Saturday Night Live: A Tribute to Chris Farley as Self
1997The View as Self
1997Trial and Error as Charles Tuttle
1997Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party as Self
1996101 Dalmatians as Roger
1996Fly Away Home as Thomas Alden
19962 Days in the Valley as Alvin Strayer
1996The Daily Show as Self
1995Redwood Curtain as Lyman Fellers
1994Dumb and Dumber as Harry Dunne
1994Speed as Harry
1993Gettysburg as Col. Joshua Chamberlain
1993Frasier as Doug (voice)
1993Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
1993Rain Without Thunder as Jonathan Garson
1992There Goes the Neighborhood as Willis Embry
1992Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story as Tom Noonan
1992HBO First Look
1992The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992Timescape as Ben Wilson
1991America's Classic Ballparks as Narrator
1991The Butcher's Wife as Dr. Alex Tremor
1991Breakfast with the Arts
1990Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael as Denton Webb
1990Arachnophobia as Ross Jennings
1990Love Hurts as Paul Weaver
1989No Place Like Home as Mike Cooper
1988Checking Out as Ray Macklin
1988Sweet Hearts Dance as Sam Manners
1988LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial as Lt. Steve Maryk
1988The House on Carroll Street as Cochran
1987Trying Times as Jim
1987Radio Days as Biff Baxter
1986Something Wild as Charles Driggs
1986Heartburn as Richard
1985Marie: A True Story as Eddie Sisk
1985The Purple Rose of Cairo as Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd
1984MTV Video Music Awards as Self - Presenter
1983Terms of Endearment as Flap Horton
1983An Invasion of Privacy as Francis Ryan
1982Fifth of July as Jed Jenkins
1981Ragtime as P.C. O'Donnell
1980A Rumor of War as Chaplain
1979CBS News Sunday Morning as Self
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1968Hawaii Five-O as Neal Forrester
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Lyman Fellers
—Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story as Ralph Teetor (voice)
—Reykjavik as Ronald Reagan
—Gerald R. Ford: A Test of Character as Narrator








