Daniel Gillies

Born in March 1976 in Winnipeg, Canada, Daniel Gillies is the child of a family of New Zealand origin. When he was five years old, he returned to his hometown, New Zealand, with his family, settling first in Invercargill and then in Hamilton. Although he grew up in a family with a strong medical background – his father was a pediatrician, his mother was a nurse, and his great-great-grandfather was Sir Harold Gillies, a pioneer of plastic surgery – Gillies turned to acting because he wanted to advance in the field, which he saw as "the only thing he could do".

Gillies settled in Sydney, Australia, for a six-week period in 2001, where he remained for many years, except for a short visit to Canada. After working various jobs such as waiter and dishwasher during this period, he finally decided to settle in Los Angeles. Although born and raised in Canada, Gillies began his career in Auckland Theater Company productions in New Zealand, and also starred in the local television series Street Legal for two seasons.

Bored with limited acting opportunities in New Zealand, Gillies began considering options in Sydney and Canada. At the end of this search, the actor moved to Los Angeles and in a short time took part in international productions such as Bride and Prejudice and Spider-Man 2. Gillies, who has been involved in various film and television projects in both Canada and America since 2002, was also seen on the screen as a guest actor in TV series such as Masters of Horror, NCIS and True Blood.

Gillies played the character of Elijah Mikaelson in the series The Vampire Diaries, which was broadcast on The CW in 2010, and in 2013, he appeared in The Originals, a spin-off of this series. The actor, who shared the leading role with names such as Joseph Morgan, Phoebe Tonkin and Claire Holt in this series, also attracted attention with the movie Broken Kingdom, which he wrote, directed and starred in with his wife Rachael Leigh Cook in 2012.

Daniel Gillies was born on March 14, 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Gillies, whose parents are from New Zealand, moved to New Zealand with his family when he was a young child and spent his childhood and youth there. Although he came from a family working in the medical field, his passion for art and acting took him on a different path.

After completing his education at the Unitec School of Performing Arts in New Zealand, he began his acting career with roles in local theater plays and the Auckland-based television series "Street Legal" (2000-2002).

Wanting to pursue an international career, Gillies first settled in Australia for a short time, then in his native Canada and eventually in Los Angeles. The project that brought him his first big break in Hollywood and recognition by moviegoers was the blockbuster superhero movie "Spider-Man 2" (2004), directed by Sam Raimi.

He managed to attract attention with the character of astronaut John Jameson he played in this movie. In the same year, "Will You Be My Bride?", an adaptation of Jane Austen with Bollywood motifs. He also had an important role in the movie (Bride & Prejudice).

After these successful steps in cinema, the real turning point that took his career to a different dimension and brought him to a large global fan base was The CW's phenomenal fantasy drama series "The Vampire Diaries". The actor, who joined the series in 2010, played the noble and charismatic Original Vampire 'Elijah Mikaelson' character.

This character was so loved by the audience that Gillies took the lead role in the series' successful spin-off project "The Originals" (2013-2018), and for five seasons he enjoyed the peak of his career, creating one of the most iconic vampires in modern television history with the character of Elijah.

In addition to his intense work in the vampire universe, he continued to showcase his versatile acting in different projects. In the popular Canadian medical drama series "Saving Hope" (2012-2015), Dr. He once again proved his dramatic talent by co-starring with the character of Joel Goran. Gillies, who is talented not only in front of the camera but also behind it, directed, wrote and produced the independent drama film "Broken Kingdom" in 2012.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in 32 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• NCIS (2003) — Peter Malloy
• The Vampire Diaries (2009) — Elijah Mikaelson
• SEAL Team (2017) — Nate Massey
• True Blood (2008) — Jon
• The Originals (2013) — Elijah Mikaelson
• Virgin River (2019) — Mark Monroe
• The Glades (2010) — Dave Rollins
• Saving Hope (2012) — Dr. Joel Goran
• Masters of Horror (2005)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) — John Jameson
• Sight Unseen (2024) — Jake Campbell
• The Newsreader (2021) — Charlie Tate

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.