Daniels was born in Athens, Georgia, to Marjorie J. (née Ferguson) and Robert Lee "Bob" Daniels.[2][3][4][5] He spent the first six weeks of his life in Georgia where his father was teaching[6] before the family moved to his parents' native Michigan where he grew up in Chelsea. His father owned the Chelsea Lumber Company and was a one-time mayor of the town.[7][8]
Daniels briefly attended Central Michigan University and participated in the school's theater program. In the summer of 1976, he attended the Eastern Michigan University drama school to participate in a special Bicentennial Repertory program, where he performed in The Hot L Baltimore and three other plays performed in repertoire. Marshall W. Mason was the guest director at EMU, and he invited Daniels to come to New York to work at the Circle Repertory Theatre, where he performed in Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson in the 1977–78 season. Daniels performed in New York in The Shortchanged Review (1979) at Second Stage Theatre.[9] It was the first show of the inaugural season for Second Stage Theatre.
Daniels starred in a pair of romantic comedies, Love Hurts (1990) and The Butcher's Wife (1991), playing Demi Moore's love interest in the latter. His sci-fi vehicle Timescape (1992) went straight to video. His next significant role was as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain in Gettysburg (1993). Daniels reprised the role of Chamberlain 10 years later in the prequel film Gods and Generals.[16]
In 1994, Daniels would co-star with Jim Carrey in one of his most commercially successful films, Dumb and Dumber. It was a noted departure for Daniels, owing to his status as a dramatic actor. Earlier that same year, Daniels appeared with Keanu Reeves in the action blockbuster Speed; the film was an enormous hit, grossing over $350 million at the box office.[17] Daniels would then host Saturday Night Live a second time before the release of the 1996 Disney live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians. Daniels starred as the owner of a litter of dalmatians stolen by the evil Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close). The film was successful, grossing $320 million. Daniels plays a grungy cop Alvin Strayer along with Eric Stoltz in 2 Days in the Valley. Also in 1996 was the family hit film Fly Away Home with Daniels as the supportive single father of Anna Paquin's goose-raising preteen. Daniels then had a critical and commercial misfire with Trial and Error (1997). He would rebound, however, with 1998's Pleasantville as diner owner Bill Johnson, who learns to act as an individual and rebel against the norm at the urging of Tobey Maguire's David. Also starring Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen, and Don Knotts, Pleasantville was nominated for three Academy Awards. Daniels starred alongside Christopher Lloyd's comedy My Favorite Martian.[18]
In 2009, after a 16-year-long absence, Daniels returned to Broadway in Yasmina Reza's original play God of Carnage alongside Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, and Marcia Gay Harden. The play centers around two sets of parents who agree to meet because of a fight among their respective sons. Their meeting starts out civilized, however, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening's devolving into chaos. The play debuted at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in previews on February 28, 2009, and officially on March 22, 2009. Originally planned for a limited engagement to close July 19, 2009, the run was extended through February 28, 2010, before converting to an open-ended run. Daniels received his first Tony Award nomination, for Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. The show won the Tony Award for Best Play. That same year Daniels acted in four films indie hit Away We Go, State of Play (2008) In 2010, Daniels continued his theater work and had a starring role in the little-seen indie Howl, alongside James Franco as Allen Ginsberg.[26] Daniels was featured on the cover of the April–May 2011 issue of Guitar Aficionado magazine[27] as well as the July–August 2011 issue of Making Music, where he discussed his experiences with music. In 2012 Daniels became the new announcing voice for Apple with the iPhone 5 ads.
In 2016, Daniels returned to Broadway in the Revival of David Harrower's Blackbird alongside Michelle Williams.[33] The play depicts a young woman (Williams) meeting a middle-aged man (Daniels), 15 years after being sexually abused by him when she was twelve. The play ran at the Belasco Theatre on February 5, 2016 (37 previews), and opened officially on March 10 (through June 11, 108 performances) where it was directed by Joe Mantello and received widespread critical acclaim.[33] Daniels was nominated for his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.[33] Williams received a Tony Award nomination as well.[33]
In 2018, Daniels starred as Atticus Finch, reuniting with Aaron Sorkin in his stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. The play opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. The production began previews on November 1, 2018, prior to its official opening on December 13, 2018. During the week ending on December 23, 2018, the production grossed over $1.5 million, breaking the record for box office grosses for a non-musical play in a theater owned by The Shubert Organization. Daniels received his third Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. The show received 8 other Tony Award nominations. In June 2019, producer Scott Rudin announced that Daniels would leave the production in November 2019 and would be succeeded by Ed Harris.[34] His last performance was on November 3, 2019.
In 1979, Daniels married his college sweetheart, a fellow Michigan resident also from Chelsea, Kathleen Rosemary Treado.[40] The couple have three children: Benjamin (born 1984), Lucas (born 1987), and Nellie (born 1990).[40]
In 1986, he moved back to his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan; as of 2016, he still primarily resides there.[41] Daniels has appeared as the TV spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, promoting Michigan's effectiveness in bringing in new companies, featured on CNBC. He was inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame on May 25, 2006, in Lansing, Michigan, and delivered the winter commencement address at the University of Michigan on December 20, 2009, at which he was granted an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts.[42] In 2022, a nematode parasite that kills tarantulas was named Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi to honor his role in Arachnophobia.[43][44]
Political beliefs
In 2020, Daniels endorsed Joe Biden in the presidential election against Donald Trump. He narrated a campaign ad for Biden titled "America Needs Michigan", focusing on the swing state of Michigan. In the ad Daniels states, "Michigan deserves a president who believes in things like decency, honesty and respect", adding that he voted for Biden.[45][46]
Activism
In 1991, Daniels founded the Purple Rose Theatre Company, a nonprofit stage company in Chelsea, Michigan.[47] He has written more than a dozen plays for the company.[48] Originally known as the Garage Theatre, The Rose takes its name from Woody Allen's 1985 film The Purple Rose of Cairo, which starred Daniels and Mia Farrow. The theater provides resources for training actors, playwrights, and other theater artists residing in the Midwest and develops new plays based on life in the Great Lakes Basin.[15] The main performance space and administrative offices occupy a building in Chelsea, Michigan, once owned by Daniels' grandfather. The theater produces four shows a year on a 3/4 thrust stage in a 168-seat house. The PRTC is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and operates under a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) Agreement with the Actors' Equity Association (AEA).[49] The Purple Rose offers a year-long apprenticeship program for young artists entering a career in theater. Apprentices are paid a modest stipend and work as many as 80 hours per week gaining experience in lighting, sound, stage management, design, set construction, and administrative/box office work. The seven apprentices also maintain and clean the theater's facilities. The program was inspired by Daniels' experience as an apprentice with the Circle Repertory Company in New York City.
^Daniels, Jeff (March 11, 2016). The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Season 1. Episode 109. Event occurs at 29:35. CBS. For 30 years, I've lived in a little town called Chelsea, Michigan.