Daniel MacPherson

For the former Australian rules footballer, see Daniel McPherson.
Daniel MacPherson

MacPherson at the Sydney premiere of The Cup in 2011
Born Daniel Donald MacPherson
April 25, 1980
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation Actor, television presenter
Years active 1998–present

Daniel Donald MacPherson (born 25 April 1980) is an Australian actor and television presenter, best known for his roles as; Joel Samuels on Neighbours, PC Cameron Tait on British police drama The Bill, and Detective Senior Constable Simon Joyner in City Homicide. He is currently the co-host of Dancing with the Stars alongside Edwina Bartholomew and starred as Jack Keenan in Wild Boys (2011).

Early life

MacPherson grew up in Sydney's beachside suburb of Cronulla where he lists swimming, fishing, golf and watching the Cronulla Sharks, a rugby league football team, as his favorite pastimes. MacPherson went on to live in Melbourne for many years before relocating to Sunshine Beach, Queensland before returning to Sydney for work in 2010.

He was accepted into MENSA at the age of 10 and went on to attend the academically selective school Sydney Boys High School.[1][2] An avid fitness advocate, MacPherson regularly competes in triathlons and marathons.

Career

MacPherson was discovered while competing in the Kurnell triathlon in southern Sydney when he was 17. He soon landed the role of Joel Samuels in the soap opera Neighbours, starting in 1998.[3] Bearing a similarity to his real life, the blond-haired actor's character was also a budding athlete. After leaving the soap in 2002, MacPherson travelled to the United Kingdom to star in a British production of the musical Godspell in which he alternated the lead roles of Jesus and Judas with English entertainer Jonathan Wilkes.[4] During this time MacPherson resided in Notting Hill with close friend Robbie Williams. After completing the show, MacPherson was offered the role of PC Cameron Tait in the British drama The Bill, which he played from 2003 until late 2004.[5] Upon leaving The Bill, he took a role playing Jesus opposite Edward Woodward as God in The Mysteries. This was a drama based on a medieval mystery play cycle in which every scene moved to a different part of Canterbury Cathedral.

MacPherson on the set of City Homicide in 2008

In 2005, MacPherson returned to Australia to present the Australian version of The X Factor.[6] MacPherson received positive feedback, despite the series attracting low ratings. After the season had finished, reports stated that before one of the live shows MacPherson was accidentally knocked unconscious by a plank of wood. After regaining consciousness several minutes later, MacPherson went on to do the show despite being heavily concussed. He says he "remembers nothing at all" from that night's broadcast. This was undetected by the public. The following year, MacPherson hosted a three-part series called Killer Sharks on Australia's Network Ten in February 2006. In late 2006, he appeared in a British/Australian production entitled Tripping Over. The show appeared on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom and Network Ten in Australia. Tripping Over featured MacPherson's ex-Neighbours co-star Brooke Satchwell. Tripping Over received numerous positive reviews and the show was a hit with Australian critics; however due to funding issues it was not picked up for a second season.

In October 2007, MacPherson left Network Ten after taking a role on the Seven Network's City Homicide. The show became the number one Australian Drama between 2007 and 2008. MacPherson left City Homicide during the fourth season.[7] On 3 August 2008, the Seven Network announced that MacPherson would be taking over the hosting role on Dancing with the Stars, after former host Daryl Somers resigned at the end of 2007. This was his first live hosting gig since The X Factor in 2005. On 17 May 2010, MacPherson guest co-hosted The Morning Show alongside Kylie Gillies, while regular male presenter Larry Emdur was on holidays. Macpherson hosted the Seven Network series, Beat the Star, a local version of the British and German television series for one season before the show was cancelled.[8]

In 2011, MacPherson returned to hosting season 11 of Dancing with the Stars in the first half of the year, before filming a new "Australian Western" style show, called Wild Boys based around Bushrangers.[7] MacPherson played the lead role and the show's protagonist, Jack Keenan and starred alongside Zoe Ventoura.[7] Wild Boys premiered to strong ratings of 1.67 million viewers.[9] This was not to last, and in November 2011, the Seven Network chose not to make a second season of the show. In February 2015, it was announced that MacPherson had landed the role of Arion in MTV's upcoming fantasy drama series The Shannara Chronicles.[10] MacPherson appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours‍ '​ 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.[11][12]

Other projects

MacPherson starred in two pantomimes at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury alongside Paul Hendy and Leila Birch. It drew audience members from all over the world, including Bob Geldof and his daughters, and Emma Bunton.

In 2006, MacPherson co-hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve 2006-07 telecast alongside Big Brother host Gretel Killeen. The telecast caused much controversy after former Big Brother 2004 housemates Ryan Fitzgerald and Bree Amer appeared to be drunk throughout their segments of the evening. Notably, MacPherson received much praise for being a "complete professional" and left with his reputation unscathed.

MacPherson competes in World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and Ironman 70.3. He competed in Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie where he missed out on qualifying for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii by only one spot. His swim time of 49:30 in Ironman New Zealand 2008 was the fastest in his age group.

In April 2009, MacPherson completed the China Ironman in Haikou. He completed the race in 11 hours and one minute, after a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and 42 km run in 45C heat. He came first in his 25–29 age group, qualifying him for the Hawaiian Ironman in October.

Personal life

MacPherson began dating his Wild Boys co-star Zoe Ventoura in 2011. They became engaged in December 2014.[13]

Triathlon results

Series Race Overall
Position		 Gender
Position		 Category
Position		 Category Time Qualified
WTC Ironman 2008 Ironman New Zealand 2008[14] 143 133 25 M25-29 10:10:55

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role[15] Notes
2011 The Cup Jason Oliver
2015 Infini Whit Carmichael

Television

Year Title Role[15] Notes
1998–2002 Neighbours Joel Samuels Role specifically written for him
2003–04 The Bill PC Cameron Tait
2006 Blackjack Craig
Tripping Over Ned British/Australian six-part drama series
2007–10 City Homicide Simon Joyner
2011 Wild Boys Jack Keenan
2015 Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite Himself Documentary
The Shannara Chronicles Arion

Stage

Year Title Role[15] Notes
1999 Jack and the Beanstalk Jack Victoria Theatre, Halifax, UK
2000 Cinderella Prince Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, UK
2001 Aladdin Aladdin Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, UK
2002 Godspell Jesus/Judas 16 week, #1 venue tour, United Kingdom
2004 The Mysteries Jesus Canterbury Cathedral, UK,

with Edward Woodward, Thomas James Longley and Joseph McManners

2005 Love Letters Andrew NIDA/Parade Theatre, Sydney

Host

Year Title Role[15] Notes
2005 The X Factor Australia Host Network Ten
Good Morning Australia Fill in Host Network Ten
Killer Shark Documentary Host Network Ten
2006 NYE Live Broadcast Co-Host Network Ten
2006–07 National Geographic Presents Host Foxtel
2008– Dancing with the Stars Host Seven Network

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result[15]
1999 Logie Awards Most Popular New Male Talent Won
2001 Logie Awards Most Popular Actor Nominated
2003 British National Television Awards Best Newcomer Nominated

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.sydneyboyshigh.com/pj-day-scholarship-endorsement
  2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534205/bio
  3. ↑ Daniel MacPherson, Dancing With The Stars, Yahoo!7.
  4. ↑ Godspell stars talk to BBC Norfolk, BBC Radio Norfolk, 25 October 2002.
  5. ↑ Aussie Actor Bares Bottom On "The Bill", ABC Radio and Regional Content, 16 September 2003.
  6. ↑ Enker, Debi: Stars in their eyes, The Age, 20 November 2004.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lowie (20 February 2011). "Ventoura and MacPherson go Wild". Media Spy. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Dan MacPherson for Beat the Star". TV Tonight. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Viewers go Wild for drama on the box". Herald Sun (The Herald and Weekly Times). Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Lee, Ben (10 February 2015). "Neighbours' Daniel MacPherson joins MTV's The Shannara Chronicles". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Knox, David (28 February 2015). "Airdate: Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (4 March 2015). "Neighbours 30th anniversary schedule confirmed by Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Molloy, Shannon (20 January 2015). "Daniel MacPherson announces his engagement to girlfriend Zoe Ventoura". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Daniel MacPherson – Ironman Results & Photos". ironzip.com. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 "The Official Daniel MacPherson Website". Retrieved 20 November 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel MacPherson.
Preceded by
Richard Wilkins		 Sydney New Year's Eve Host (with Gretel Killeen)
2006–07 		Succeeded by
Kim Watkins and Andrew G