Daniel Gillies

Early life

Gillies was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to parents from New Zealand. When he was five, his parents decided to return to New Zealand, moving to Invercargill and then Hamilton. Though born into a family of strong medical background (his father is a pediatrician, his mother a nurse, and he is descended from the renowned ENT/plastic surgery pioneer Sir Harold Gillies), Gillies became interested in acting because he said it was "the only thing [he] was ever any good at".

Frustrated with the lack of opportunities in New Zealand, he moved to Sydney, Australia for six weeks in 2001 before going to Canada for two months, where he worked as a waiter and dishwasher until deciding to move to Los Angeles.

Career

Gillies began his career starring in several Auckland Theatre Company productions, before landing a two-season lead role in the television drama Street Legal. After deciding that his acting options in his native New Zealand were limited, Gillies explored his options in Sydney and Canada. Gillies then moved to Los Angeles and was soon cast in the movies Bride and Prejudice and Spider-Man 2.

Since 2002, Gillies has worked in North American film and television productions. Before landing lead roles in television series, Gillies landed guests spots on television shows such as Masters of Horror, NCIS, and True Blood. In 2010, he was cast on the hit The CW drama The Vampire Diaries as Elijah Mikaelson. In 2013, CW created a successful spin-off of The Originals, which chronicled the lives of the first vampires. Gillies's recurring part as Elijah from The Vampire Diaries became a lead part in The Originals. A potential nightmare existed for CW since Gillies was already under contract to play Joel Goran in the supernatural series, Saving Hope. Saving Hope initially aired in the US on NBC, but the series was not renewed although it continued to run in Canada. He continued both shows. In 2012, Gillies wrote, directed and starred with then wife Rachael Leigh Cook in Broken Kingdom.

From 2019 to 2022, Gillies portrayed the role of Mark Monroe in the Netflix 2019 romantic drama television series Virgin River. He was in the show for four seasons. In January 2021, Gillies starred in the psychological thriller film Coming Home in the Dark, based on a 1995 short-story of the same name by Owen Marshall. In 2022, Gillies was cast as Charlie Tate in the second season of the ABC series The Newsreader.

Personal life

Gillies married American actress Rachael Leigh Cook on 8 August 2004. Together they have a daughter, born in September 2013, and a son, born in April 2015. In an interview in 2017, Gillies revealed that he would undergo a vasectomy to prevent further births, citing concerns about his age and energy levels. He stated: "I want to be able to give these two my love and my attention and my care. I would like to stop now."

On 13 June 2019, both Cook and Gillies announced on Instagram that they mutually decided to separate and they also said that they wanted it to be as discreet as possible for the sake of their kids. On 10 July 2020 Gillies filed for divorce from Cook. Their divorce was finalized on 10 March 2021.

Since 2021, Gillies has been in a relationship with cellist Julia Misaki.

Filmography

Film

Television

Voice acting

References

References

1. Gallagher, Michael Aaron. (11 September 2012). "Daniel Gillies Releases Broken Kingdom/Kingdom Come Films". StayFamous.net.
2. Barry, Rebecca. (19 June 2005). "Spiderweb of fame". The New Zealand Herald.
3. "Axe hovering over Street Legal's core cast".
4. "Mary Jane Watson and John Jameson (Daniel Gillies)".
5. (22 January 2013). "Daniel Gillies Joins CW's 'Vampire Diaries' Spinoff 'The Originals'".
6. "Daniel Gillies Joining 'Vampire Diaries' Spinoff 'The Originals'".
7. "'Vampire Diaries' Daniel Gillies on his new drama 'Saving Hope'".
8. (17 February 2012). "Vampire Diaries Star Daniel Gillies Reveals Where He's Headed, and the Elena Scene We Never Saw!".
9. (7 August 2013). "Daniel Gillies on Saving Hope, Originals".
10. (18 August 2021). "Virgin River star Daniel Gillies just gave a huge update about season 4".
11. (26 January 2021). "'Coming Home In The Dark': Eerie First Teaser For Sundance Thriller Starring 'The Originals' Star Daniel Gillies".
12. (25 July 2022). "'The Vampire Diaries' Star Daniel Gillies To Join Roku Original And ABC Australia Drama 'The Newsreader' As Series Regular".
13. (8 May 2013). "Baby on the Way for Rachael Leigh Cook and Daniel Gillies". People.
14. (25 June 2013). "Rachael Leigh Cook: I'm Happy We Waited to Have a Baby". People.
15. Webber, Stephanie. (29 September 2013). "Rachael Leigh Cook, Husband Daniel Gillies Welcome Baby Girl". Us Weekly.
16. Chen, Joyce. (4 October 2013). "Rachael Leigh Cook Reveals Baby Name: Charlotte Easton Gillies!". Us Weekly.
17. "EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Gillies Gushes Over 'Beautiful' Wife Rachael Leigh Cook, Reveals If Baby No. 3 Could Happen!". Entertainment Tonight.
18. (13 June 2019). "Rachael Leigh Cook and Daniel Gillies Announce Split After Nearly 15 Years of Marriage".
19. Stone, Natalie. (16 July 2020). "Rachael Leigh Cook's Husband Daniel Gillies Files for Divorce 1 Year After Separating".
20. (18 March 2021). "Rachael Leigh Cook and Daniel Gillies Finalize Divorce Nearly 2 Years After Split".
21. (2023-08-07). "From 'Vampire Diaries' to 'Virgin River' Catch Up With Actor Daniel Gillies + Find Out What He's Doing Now".
22. "'The Originals' Star Daniel Gillies on Directing: 'I Got the Best Episode of the Season'".