Daniel Gillies is a Canadian-born New Zealand actor best known for his role as “Elijah Mikaelson” in the American supernatural drama television series “The Vampire Diaries.” Gillies also appeared in the ‘The Originals,’ a spin-off of ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ Despite coming from a family of doctors, he had little interest in pursuing a career in medicine. He’d always been drawn to show business since he was a child. He made his acting debut in the New Zealand drama series ‘Street Legal,’ and has since acted in a number of popular films and television shows. When he was cast in the Canadian supernatural medical drama television series ‘Saving Hope,’ he earned his big break. On the episode, he played the role of ‘Dr. Joel Goran,’ which had a mystical and paranormal element to it. ‘Spider-Man 2’, ‘Bride and Prejudice,’ ‘The Sensation of Sight,’ and ‘Captivity’ are among his notable film roles. He also played ‘Royal Marine Major Peter Malloy,’ a British MI-6 spy on ‘NCIS.’
Career of Daniel Gillies
Gillies began concentrating on developing his acting skills after relocating to New Zealand with his family, claiming that it was “the only thing” he was excellent at. As a young man, he joined the Auckland Theatre Company and appeared in many of their shows. Soon after, he was cast as the lead in the New Zealand drama series ‘Street Legal.’
He played ‘Tim O’Connor’ in the sitcom for two seasons, which followed the lives of a group of lawyers. After struggling to find work in his native country, Gillies decides to look for work elsewhere. He first travelled to Australia, then to Canada, where he even worked as a restaurant dishwasher. When he decided to try his luck in the United States, his bad luck came to an end. He relocated to Los Angeles and was cast in the 2004 American superhero picture “Spider-Man 2,” directed by Sam Raimi.
He played ‘John Jameson,’ the fiancé of Kirsten Dunst’s character ‘Mary Jane Watson,’ in a minor role. In the same year, he co-starred in the romantic drama film ‘Bride and Prejudice’ with Aishwarya Rai and Martin Henderson. He starred in Steven Spielberg’s miniseries ‘Into the West’ in 2005, and later in 2010 in the American action police procedural television series ‘NCIS’ as ‘Royal Marine Major Peter Malloy.’
When he was cast as ‘Elijah Mikaelson’ in ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ an American supernatural drama television series, he got his first prominent role on television. From 2010 to 2014, he was a regular on the show, portraying the character from the second to the fifth season. From 2013 until 2018, he also participated in the show’s spin-off, ‘The Originals,’ in which he portrayed the recurrent role of ‘Elijah Mikaelson.’ From season one through season three, Gillies played the part of ‘Dr. Joel Goran’ in the Canadian supernatural medical drama television series ‘Saving Hope.’
Personal Experiences
Daniel Gillies was born on March 14, 1976, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to a family with a medical background. His mother is a nurse and his father is a pediatrician. He is also the great-great-great-grandson of Sir Harold Gillies, the legendary plastic surgery pioneer. Gillies married American actress Rachael Leigh Cook on August 8, 2004, and the pair welcomed their first child, Charlotte Easton Gillies, on September 28, 2013. Two years later, on April 4, 2015, their second child, son Theodore Vigo Sullivan Gillies, was born.