Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is a British actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for Never the Sinner (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for 900 Oneonta (1994), Best Actor in the M.E.N. Theatre Awards for Martin Yesterday (1998), and won the 2001 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Arthur Miller play All My Sons.

In 2008, Daniels made his Broadway début in a revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Daniels has also appeared on popular television series including Cutting It (2002–04), The Virgin Queen (2005), Law & Order: UK (2009–11), The Paradise (2013), House of Cards (2013–14), and The Exorcist (2016–17).

On 1 April 2018 he appeared in the NBC live televised concert rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar as Pontius Pilate. Daniels played Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon in the third season of Netflix series The Crown. Currently, Daniels stars in the role of Walter Sampson in the Netflix superhero series, Jupiter's Legacy.

Early life :

Daniels was born on 10 June 1964 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. His father was an engineer at Rolls-Royce and later a grocer, while his mother owned a children's clothes shop. He has recalled: "I was quite a shy child, but quite disruptive as well. I was very sneaky and underhanded."

Daniels was educated at Manor Park School, a state comprehensive school in Nuneaton, near Coventry, in Warwickshire (since closed). According to Daniels, drama lessons at O-levels gave him a voice, and when he attended sixth form studies at Stratford College between 1980 and 1982, doing A-levels in theatre studies and English literature, he attended Royal Shakespeare Company performances. A fellow student recalled that Daniels, whom he knew as Dave, "was very serious about his work, and struck me as incredibly intelligent... you got the sense his mind was working; the cogs were ticking over".Daniels subsequently trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for three years.