Daniel Lapaine

Biography

Daniel Lapaine is an Australian actor working across film, theatre and television, and he has been based in London for many years. Born in Sydney, he trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and first attracted attention in 1994, playing the South African swimmer David Van Arkle in P. J. Hogan's Muriel's Wedding. From there he moved between Australian projects and international productions, including Brokedown Palace with Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale and Shanghai with John Cusack. His roles in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and in Last Chance Harvey, alongside Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, gave him a higher profile in Hollywood.

Television has been a steady part of his career. He played Dave in all four series of Catastrophe, appeared in two episodes of Black Mirror six years apart, and took the role of King Charles II in Versailles. On stage he has worked in London, Sheffield and Sydney, including productions at Shakespeare's Globe and the Old Vic. He also wrote and directed the Australian feature 48 Shades, based on Nick Earls's novel. He remains active in both screen and stage work.

Key films

• Muriel's Wedding (1994): his breakthrough role as a South African swimmer.
• 54 (1998): a supporting part in this drama set in the New York nightclub Studio 54.
• Brokedown Palace (1999): a prison drama opposite Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale.
• Last Chance Harvey (2008): a romantic comedy opposite Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.
• Zero Dark Thirty (2012): a role in Kathryn Bigelow's thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.