Jeff Daniels
Known for: Acting
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. 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).
Filmography
Series
Family Guy
Jeff Daniels (voice)
1999
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self
2015
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Casting Reject
2015
Series
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1993
Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Series
The Graham Norton Show
Self
2007
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1975
Series
Frasier
Doug (voice)
1993
Series
The Colbert Report
Self
2005
Series
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self
2005
Series
The View
Self
1997
Series
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
2003
Series
Hawaii Five-O
Neal Forrester
1968
Series
CBS News Sunday Morning
Self
1979
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Series
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
Series
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Series
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self
2014
Series
Shrinking
2023
Series
Shrinking
Randy
2023
Series
MTV Video Music Awards
Self - Presenter
1984
Series
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
2015
Series
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Self
2014
Series
The Newsroom
Will McAvoy
2012
Series
Impractical Jokers
Self
2011
Film
The Martian
Theodore "Teddy" Sanders
2015
Series
HBO First Look
1992
Series
Godless
Frank Griffin
2017
Film
Dumb and Dumber
Harry Dunne
1994
Film
101 Dalmatians
Roger
1996
Film
Speed
Harry
1994
Film
Looper
Abe
2012
Film
Allegiant
David
2016
Series
The American Revolution
Thomas Jefferson (voice)
2025
Film
Pleasantville
Mr. Johnson
1998
Film
Dumb and Dumber To
Harry Dunne
2014
Film
RV
Travis Gornicke
2006
Film
State of Play
George Fergus
2009
Series
A Man in Full
Charlie Croker
2024
Series
American Rust
Det. Del Harris
2021
Film
The Hours
Louis Waters
2002
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Lyman Fellers
1951
Film
Blood Work
Jasper 'Buddy' Noone
2002
Film
Gettysburg
Col. Joshua Chamberlain
1993
Film
Steve Jobs
John Sculley
2015
Series
The Comey Rule
James Comey
2020
Series
The Looming Tower
John O'Neill
2018
Film
Traitor
Carter
2008
Film
Ragtime
P.C. O'Donnell
1981
Film
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Sig Mickelson
2005
Series
Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway (voice)
2021
Film
Terms of Endearment
Flap Horton
1983
Film
Heartburn
Richard
1986
Film
The Answer Man
Arlen Faber
2009
Series
The American Buffalo
(voice)
2023
Film
Arachnophobia
Ross Jennings
1990
Film
Radio Days
Biff Baxter
1987
Film
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Self
2024
Film
Adam
Mickey
2020
Film
Fly Away Home
Thomas Alden
1996
Series
Washington
Self - Narrator
2020
Film
Space Chimps
Zartog (voice)
2008
Film
2 Days in the Valley
Alvin Strayer
1996
Series
Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party
Himself
2020
Film
Timescape
Ben Wilson
1992
Film
Because of Winn-Dixie
Preacher
2005
Film
Something Wild
Charles Driggs
1986
Series
ARES: live
Teddy Sanders
2015
Film
The Lookout
Lewis
2007
Film
The Squid and the Whale
Bernard Berkman
2005
Film
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd
1985
Film
Checking Out
Ray Macklin
1988
Film
Cheaters
Dr. Gerard Plecki
2000
Series
A Rumor of War
Chaplain
1980
Film
Infamous
Alvin Dewey
2006
Film
The Catcher Was a Spy
Bill Donovan
2018
Film
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Denton Webb
1990
Film
The Butcher's Wife
Dr. Alex Tremor
1991
Film
Gods and Generals
Lt. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
2003
Film
Paper Man
Richard Dunn
2009
Film
My Favorite Martian
Tim O'Hara
1999
Film
I Witness
James Rhodes
2003
Film
Saturday Night Live: A Tribute to Chris Farley
Self
1998
Film
Howl
Professor David Kirk
2010
Film
Trial and Error
Charles Tuttle
1997
Film
Away We Go
Jerry Farlander
2009
Film
9/11: Inside the President's War Room
Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
Film
The Brink of War
Ronald Reagan
2026
Film
Mama's Boy
Mert Rosenbloom
2007
Film
The Goodbye Girl
Elliot Garfield
2004
Film
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Self
2021
Film
Imaginary Heroes
Ben Travis
2004
Trying Times
Jim
1987
Film
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2003
Series
Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge
Narrator
2017
Film
The House on Carroll Street
Cochran
1988
Film
The Crossing
Gen. George Washington
2000
Film
Chasing Sleep
Ed Saxon
2001
Film
There Goes the Neighborhood
Willis Embry
1992
Film
All the Rage
Warren Harding
1999
Film
Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
Film
James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend
Self
2013
Film
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Blue Man
2004
Film
"That's Awesome!": The Story of 'Dumb and Dumber To'
Self
2015
Film
Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words
Self
2025
Film
Marie: A True Story
Eddie Sisk
1985
Film
An Invasion of Privacy
Francis Ryan
1983
Film
No Place Like Home
Mike Cooper
1989
Film
Sweet Hearts Dance
Sam Manners
1988
2034
Film
Sweet Nothing in My Ear
Dan Miller
2008
Film
Rain Without Thunder
Jonathan Garson
1993
Film
Escanaba in da Moonlight
Rueben Soady
2001
Film
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Lt. Steve Maryk
1988
Film
The Saint of Second Chances
Narrator (voice)
2023
Film
Love Hurts
Paul Weaver
1990
Film
A Plumm Summer
Narrator
2008
Film
Super Sucker
Fred Barlow
2002
Film
Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story
Tom Noonan
1992
Film
Redwood Curtain
Lyman Fellers
1995
Film
Bye Bye Barry
Self
2023
Breakfast with the Arts
1991
Film
Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party
Self
1997
Film
Robin Williams: A Family Affair
Self
2006
Film
Dumb and Dumber - Making Of
Self
2004
Film
Barry Sonnenfeld: The Kosher Cowboy
Self
2006
Film
The Emperor's Newest Clothes
The Emperor
2018
RV Nation: The Culture of Road Warriors
Self
2006
Film
The Russian Five
self
2018
Film
Guest Artist
Joseph Harris
2019
Film
Still Dumb After All These Years
Self
2006
Film
Of Miracles and Men
Self - Narrator
2015
Film
Remembering Ragtime
P. C. O'Donnell (archive footage)
2004
Film
Fifth of July
Jed Jenkins
1982
Film
Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story
Ralph Teetor (voice)
Gerald R. Ford: A Test of Character
Narrator
Film
America's Classic Ballparks
Narrator
1991