# Daniel Evans (actor)

Daniel Gwyn Evans (born 31 July 1973) is a Welsh actor and director.

## Background

Evans was born in the Rhondda Valley in Wales in 1973. Evans started acting early in life, going to the Urdd Eisteddfod, and beginning to compete there from the age of five or six, as well as going to many amateur productions. He realised it was what he wanted to do aged 8, and aged 17, he won the Richard Burton Memorial Prize at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. A year later, he won the Chair at the Urdd Eisteddfod.
He attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen near Pontypridd, a Welsh-language secondary school which has nurtured many actors.

## Career
### Stage career

Evans trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1991 to 1994, but joined the Royal Shakespeare Company before completing his course. With the RSC he had small roles in Coriolanus and Henry V, before playing Lysander when Adrian Noble's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream toured in New York City and on Broadway.
He appeared in the controversial play Cardiff East by Peter Gill at the Royal National Theatre in 1997, and as the title role in Peter Pan, alongside Ian McKellen and Claudie Blakley.
Directed by Trevor Nunn, he appeared in The Merchant of Venice and Troilus and Cressida, and was then cast as the hero in the operetta Candide, which also starred Simon Russell Beale. It was his first singing role, and saw him nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000.
As well as Shakespeare and traditional theatre, Evans had starred in several more experimental plays. At the Royal Court Theatre, he appeared in the débuts of two Sarah Kane plays: Cleansed and 4.48 Psychosis.
After the success of Candide, Evans was soon cast in another singing role, this time the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical (2001).
Returning to Shakespeare, he played Ariel in Michael Grandage's production of The Tempest at the Sheffield Crucible, with Derek Jacobi starring as Prospero. For this, and for his performance in the play Ghosts, he was awarded second prize for the Ian Charleson Award in 2003. With the Royal Shakespeare Company again, he appeared in Measure for Measure and Cymbeline.
In November 2005, he starred in another Sondheim musical, Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory in the West End, playing the role of French Post-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat, opposite Anna-Jane Casey. It was directed by Sam Buntrock, and was a daring production, using extensive animation and projections to show the creation of Seurat's masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte as it was put together over the course of the play.
At the end of its short run at the Menier, Sunday transferred to the larger Wyndham's Theatre, where it continued until September 2006. It won five Olivier awards, including Best Actor for Evans, Best Actress for Jenna Russell, who took over Casey's role when the Menier run finished, and Outstanding Musical Production.
In January 2008, Sunday started previews at Studio 54, on Broadway, New York, with Evans and Russell reprising their parts, and a new cast from the Roundabout Theatre Company. It opened on 21 February 2008 and closed on 29 June. The revival was nominated for, but failed to win, 9 Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for Evans, Best Actress in a Musical for Russell, and Best Direction of a Musical for Sam Buntrock. Evans was also nominated for an Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, a Drama League Award for a Distinguished Performance, and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, although the prizes were taken by Paulo Szot (Outer Critics' Circle and Drama Desk), and Patti LuPone, respectively.

### Television and film career

On television, he has worked extensively with the BBC, especially in period dramas, including Great Expectations with Ioan Gruffudd, Daniel Deronda with Hugh Dancy, and The Virgin Queen with Anne-Marie Duff.
Evans has also had cameo appearances in the long-running series, Spooks, Dalziel and Pascoe and Midsomer Murders.
He starred as Daniel Llewellyn in the 2005 Christmas special of Doctor Who, which introduced David Tennant as the 10th Doctor.
He appeared in The Passion in Holy Week, as St Matthew.
Evans has appeared in eight films to date: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cameleon, Be Brave, The Barber of Siberia, Y Mabinogi, Tomorrow La Scala!, The Ramen Girl. and Les Misérables

### Directing career

Evans débuted as a director in 2005 with a double-bill of Peter Gill's plays: Lovely Evening and In the Blue, and a year later directed a Welsh-language production of the play Esther. That year he also directed a reading of Total Eclipse, by Christopher Hampton, for the Royal Court Theatre's 50th Anniversary, a show which he starred in at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2007.
In 2007 Evans returned to Guildhall to direct a student production of Certain Young Men, also by Peter Gill, with a cast of eight final year students.
On 8 April 2009, Evans was named as successor to Samuel West as artistic director of Sheffield Theatres. He took up his new role following the refurbishment of the Crucible Theatre, with his first season in February 2010. Evans has stated that he does not plan on giving up acting for directing: "I don't intend to give up acting ... for the immediate future".
In 2013, Evans directed the Simon Beaufoy play The Full Monty which opened at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield before touring the UK and transferring to the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End. In 2013, he also directed the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
Evans directed American Buffalo at Wyndham's Theatre in 2015, and Show Boat at the Crucible Theatre in 2015, and again in 2016 at the New London Theatre following its transfer to the West End.
In December 2015, he was appointed the new artistic director at Chichester Festival Theatre and succeeded Jonathan Church in July 2016. His productions have included Forty Years On, Fiddler on the Roof, Quiz (2017, also West End 2018 and UK tour 2023), Me and My Girl, Flowers for Mrs Harris (2018), This Is My Family (2019), South Pacific (2021, also UK tour 2022) and Our Generation (2022 - also Royal National Theatre).
On 21 September 2022, it was announced that Evans with Tamara Harvey will become joint Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company succeeding Gregory Doran (as Emeritus Artistic Director) and Erica Whyman (Acting Artistic Director) from June 2023. Their first season was announced on 16 January 2024.

## Personal life

Evans saw becoming an actor as a vocation since childhood, and he has been openly gay since then, though it was difficult and he was bullied at school, ascribing it to a "macho culture". In 2011, Evans told The Guardian, regarding his upbringing in south Wales: "My family still live there. They were very liberal, thank God, and still are. They encouraged me."

## Stage and screen credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | |
| 1997 | Cameleon | Elfed Davis | |
| 1998 | The Barber of Siberia | Andrew (with mask) | Original title: "Сибирский цирюльник" |
| 1999 | Great Expectations | Herbert Pocket | TV film |
| 2001 | Being Dom Joly | | TV film |
| 2002 | Tomorrow La Scala! | Jonny Atkins | |
| 2003 | Y Mabinogi | Manawydan | English title: "Otherworld" |
| 2008 | The Ramen Girl | Charlie | |
| 2011 | Seeds of Arkham | Brave Thug | Short |
| 2012 | Les Misérables | Pimp | |
| 2016 | Look Back in Anger | Cliff | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | The Eye of the Dragon | Robin Richards | Mini-series |
| 1987 | Dramarama | Gareth | Episode: "A Spirited Performance" |
| 1995 | Soldier Soldier | Lance Corporal Alun Griffiths | Episode: "The Army Game" |
| 2000 | Doctors | Jason Bridgers | Episode: "All That Glitters" |
| 2001 | Love in a Cold Climate | Cedric | Mini-series |
| 2001 | The Vice | Aaron | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Helen West | Daniel Maley | Episode: "Deep Sleep" |
| 2002 | Daniel Deronda | Mordecai | Mini-series |
| 2004 | Spooks | Defence QC | Episode: "Persephone" |
| 2005 | To the Ends of the Earth | Parson Colley | Mini-series |
| 2005 | Doctor Who | Danny Llewellyn | Episode: "The Christmas Invasion" |
| 2005 | The Virgin Queen | Robert Cecil | Mini-series |
| 2006 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Rob Miclean | Episode: "Houdini's Ghost" |
| 2007 | Midsomer Murders | David Mostyn | Episode: "Death and Dust" |
| 2008 | The Passion | Apostle Matthew | Mini-series |
| 2008 | Holby City | Hallam Black | Episode: "Not in the Stars" |

### Theatre (as actor)

| Year | Play | Role | Venue(s) | Notes |
| 1994 | Henry V | Boy | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1994 | Coriolanus | Servant | Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1994 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Francis Flute | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1995 | Coriolanus | Volscian Servant | Barbican Centre, London & Newcastle Playhouse, Newcastle upon Tyne | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1995 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | Barbican Centre, London | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1995 | Henry V | Boy | Barbican Centre, London & Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1996 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | Golden Gate Theatre - San Francisco, Shubert Theatre - Chicago, Eisenhower Theater - Washington, D.C. & Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - New York City | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1996 | Easy Terms | Howard | Sherman Theatre, Cardiff | |
| 1997 | Cardiff East | Neil | Cottesloe Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London & New Theatre, Cardiff | |
| 1997-1998 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 1998 | Cleansed | Robin | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 1999 | Troilus and Cressida | Patroclus | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 1999 | The Merchant of Venice | Lorenzo | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 1999 | Candide | Candide | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2000 | Other People | Stephen | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2000-2001 | Merrily We Roll Along | Charley Kringas | Donmar Warehouse, London | |
| 2001 | 4:48 Psychosis | | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2002 | Where Do We Live | Stephen | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2002 | Ghosts | Oswald Alving | Festival Theatre - Malvern, New Wolsey Theatre - Ipswich, Warwick Arts Centre - Coventry, The Lowry - Salford, Gateway Theatre - Chester, Grand Theatre - Blackpool, York Theatre Royal - York, Cambridge Arts Theatre - Cambridge, Greenwich Theatre - London & Yvonne Arnaud Theatre - Guildford | with English Touring Theatre |
| 2003 | The Tempest | Ariel | The Old Vic, London & Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | |
| 2003 | Measure for Measure | Angelo | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2003 | Cymbeline | Posthumus Leonatus | Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2004 | Cloud Nine | Betty/Edward | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | |
| 2005 | Grand Hotel | Otto Kringelein | Donmar Warehouse, London | |
| 2005 | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat | Menier Chocolate Factory, London | |
| 2006 | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat | Wyndham's Theatre, London | |
| 2007 | Total Eclipse | Paul Verlaine | Menier Chocolate Factory, London | |
| 2007 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Tobias Ragg | Southbank Centre, London | |
| 2007 | Good Thing Going | Part of a Revue | Cadogan Hall, London | |
| 2008 | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat | Studio 54, New York City | |
| 2009 | The Art of News | | Kings Place, London | with London Sinfonietta |
| 2011 | The Pride | Oliver | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | |
| 2011 | Company | Robert | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | |
| 2022 | Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends | | Sondheim Theatre | One-night only gala |
| 2025 | Edward II | Edward II | Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2025 | 4:48 Psychosis | | Royal Court Theatre | co-production with Royal Court Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company (revival of 2001 production) |
| 2025 | 4:48 Psychosis | | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon | co-production with Royal Court Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company (revival of 2001 production) |

### Theatre (as director)

| Year | Title | Venue |
| 2010 | An Enemy of the People | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2011 | Othello | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2011 | Racing Demon | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2012 | Macbeth | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2012 | The Golden Age of Broadway | Royal Festival Hall, London |
| 2012 | My Fair Lady | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2013 | The Full Monty | Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2013 | This Is My Family | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2013 | Oliver! | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2014 | The Sheffield Mysteries | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2014 | Anything Goes | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2014 | The Full Monty | Noël Coward Theatre, London |
| 2015 | The Effect | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2015 | Show Boat | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2015 | American Buffalo | Wyndham's Theatre, London |
| 2016 | Flowers for Mrs Harris | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2016 | Show Boat | New London Theatre, London |
| 2017 | Forty Years On | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2017 | Fiddler on the Roof | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2017 | Quiz | Minerva Theatre, Chichester |
| 2018 | Quiz | Noël Coward Theatre, London |
| 2018 | Me and My Girl | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2018 | Flowers for Mrs Harris | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2019 | This Is My Family | Minerva Theatre, Chichester |
| 2021 | South Pacific | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2022 | Our Generation | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London |
| 2022 | Our Generation | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| 2022 | South Pacific | UK tour |
| 2022 | Local Hero | Minerva Theatre, Chichester |
| 2023 | Quiz | UK tour |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2000 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Candide | Nominated |
| 2001 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Merrily We Roll Along | Won |
| 2002 | Ian Charleson Awards | — | Ghosts & The Tempest | Nominated |
| 2007 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Sunday in the Park with George | Won |
| 2008 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Sunday in the Park with George | Nominated |
| 2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Sunday in the Park with George | Nominated |
| 2008 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Sunday in the Park with George | Nominated |
| 2013 | UK Theatre Awards | Best Touring Production | The Full Monty | Won |
| 2013 | UK Theatre Awards | Best Musical | This Is My Family | Won |
| 2014 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Regional Production | My Fair Lady | Won |
| 2014 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best New Comedy | The Full Monty | Nominated |
| 2015 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Regional Production | Oliver! | Won |
| 2016 | UK Theatre Awards | Best Musical Production | Flowers for Mrs. Harris & Show Boat | Won |
| 2017 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Musical Revival | Show Boat | Nominated |