BWW Profile: Jeff Daniels Emmy-Nominated Star of Stage and Screen

In anticipation of the live 66th Annual Emmy Award broadcast on NBC this Monday, BWW takes a look at the Emmy nominated TV performances of some Broadway's biggest stars. Today, we look stage and screen star Jeff Daniels, nominated for a second time for his work as news anchor Will MacAvoy in HBO's THE NEWSROOM.

Daniels was nominated for his first season on the HBO drama series created by Aaron Sorkin and won in the category Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2013, his first television leading role. He has also been nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for the same role, as well as a Golden Globe.

Making his film debut in Milos Forman's RAGTIME in 1981, Jeff Daniels has worked steadily in film since that time. Throughout the 1980s, he appeared in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and two Woody Allen films, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO and RADIO DAYS. During the next decade, Daniels was seen as Col. Joshua Chamberlain in the Civil War drama GETTYSBURG and its prequel, GODS AND GENERALS. In 1994, the actor joined with comic Jim Carrey as the hapless duo of loveable dunces Harry and Lloyd in DUMB & DUMBER. This November, Carrey and Daniels will pair up for DUMB & DUMBER TO, picking up Lloyd and Harry's adventures 20 years later.

On the small screen, Daniels recreated stage roles in two works by the late Landford Wilson, THE FIFTH OF JULY(1982, AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE on PBS) and REDWOOD CURTAIN (1995). Other television credits include SWEET NOTHING IN MY EAR (2008), THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN (2004), and a remake of Neil Simon's THE GOODBYE GIRL.

As a Broadway actor, Daniels made his debut in GEMINI as a stage manager and understudy. In FIFTH OF JULY, co-starring with Christopher Reeve and Swoosie Kurtz, Daniels moved into leading roles. He starred in THE GOLDEN AGE during the 1984 season, and returned to Broadway as Lyman in REDWOOD CURTAIN in 1993. His last Broadway appearance was in both male roles in the four-person, dark comedy GOD OF CARNAGE. Daniels opened the play in 2009 as Alan, opposite James Gandolfini as Michael, and Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden as their wives. A year later, Daniels returned to the play switching to Michael when Dylan Baker took on the role of Alan.

In Daniels founded the Purple Rose Theater Company in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan where he also makes his home. For the company, the actor has written more than a dozen plays.

Hosted by LATE NIGHT star Seth Meyers, the 66th Emmy Awards will air live on NBC on Monday, August 25, (8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT) from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Be sure to visit BWW TVWorld for live coverage of the 2014 Primetime EMMY AWARDS.

Check out clips of Daniels in THE NEWSROOM and some of his other work below.

The 66th Annual Primetime Emmys will air live on Monday, August 25th (8pm ET/ 5pm PT) from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California. And be sure to visit BWW TVWorld for live coverage of the of the 2014 Primetime EMMY AWARDS. Join the Emmys conversation in the comments below, or on Twitter using #BWWEmmys.

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