Daniel Gillies

Biography:

Daniel Gillies was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to parents who were originally from New Zealand. When he was five years old, his family relocated back to New Zealand, first settling in Invercargill and later in Hamilton. Although he came from a strong medical lineage—his father is a pediatrician, his mother is a nurse, and he is related to the notable ENT and plastic surgery pioneer Sir Harold Gillies—Daniel chose a different path. He has stated that he pursued acting because it was the one field in which he truly felt confident in his abilities.

Finding limited acting opportunities in New Zealand, Gillies briefly moved to Sydney, Australia, in 2001 for about six weeks. He then spent two months in Canada, working as a waiter and dishwasher before ultimately deciding to relocate to Los Angeles to further his career.

He began acting professionally in stage productions with the Auckland Theatre Company before securing a leading role for two seasons in the television drama Street Legal. After exploring opportunities abroad due to limited prospects at home, Gillies moved to Los Angeles, where he soon landed roles in the films Bride and Prejudice and Spider-Man 2.

From 2002 onward, Gillies built his career in North American film and television. Prior to earning major roles, he made guest appearances on shows such as Masters of Horror, NCIS, and True Blood. In 2010, he was cast as Elijah Mikaelson in The CW’s hit series The Vampire Diaries. His character became so popular that when the spin-off The Originals launched in 2013, his previously recurring role was expanded into a leading part. At the same time, Gillies was under contract for another supernatural drama, Saving Hope, in which he played Joel Goran. Although Saving Hope was not renewed in the United States after airing on NBC, it continued in Canada, allowing him to work on both series. In 2012, Gillies wrote, directed, and starred alongside his then-wife Rachael Leigh Cook in the film Broken Kingdom.

Between 2019 and 2022, Gillies portrayed Mark Monroe in the Netflix romantic drama series Virgin River, appearing across four seasons. In January 2021, he starred in the psychological thriller Coming Home in the Dark, adapted from Owen Marshall’s 1995 short story. In 2022, he joined the cast of the ABC drama The Newsreader in its second season, playing Charlie Tate.

Gillies married American actress Rachael Leigh Cook on August 8, 2004. The couple has two children—a daughter born in September 2013 and a son born in April 2015. In a 2017 interview, Gillies shared his decision to undergo a vasectomy, explaining that he wanted to focus his energy and attention fully on his two children.

On June 13, 2019, Gillies and Cook publicly announced their mutual decision to separate, emphasizing their intention to handle the matter privately for the sake of their children. Gillies filed for divorce on July 10, 2020, and the divorce was finalized on March 10, 2021.

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