Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for Star! (1968), in which he played Noel Coward, his real-life godfather.
Daniel Massey's parents, Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen, were seeking a divorce and hired longtime friend and international lawyer, William Dwight Whitney, who was divorced from his wife, Dorothy Whitney. In 1939, Dorothy married Raymond, and Adrianne married William Whitney. Both couples lived happily "ever after". Daniel and his sister, Anna Massey, spent most of their childhood time in London with Adrianne and Bill and, during WWII, enjoyed many visits with their uncle, Roger Sherman Baldwin Whitney, M.D.
Daniel's first film was at age 9 in In Which We Serve (1942) wherein he played the son of Noel Coward, his real-life godfather. Decades later he played Coward in the film Star! (1968) with Julie Andrews for which he received an Oscar nod and Golden Globe win.
Godson of Noel Coward.
Had an uncle, Vincent, who was at one time Governor General of Canada.
He divorced his actress/wife Penelope Wilton, his co-star on stage in such stage productions as "Bloomssbury" (1974), "The Betrayal" (1978), "The Philanderer" (1979) and "Man and Superman" (1981) (for which he won a Laurence Olivier Award), and almost immediately married her sister, Lindy Winton.
He was awarded a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1982 (1981 season) for Best Actor in a Revival for "Man and Superman".
He was awarded the 1995 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Actor for his performance in Taking Sides.
His parents broke up when he was quite young. Both he and sister Anna Massey were brought up by their British mother, Adrianne Allen. Their father Raymond Massey returned to the US and built a formidable acting career, rarely seeing his children. Anna reported seeing her father perhaps six times during her entire life.
Son of actors Raymond Massey, who appeared with him in The Queen's Guards (1961), and Adrianne Allen. Nephew of Vincent Massey. Brother of Anna Massey, who appeared with him in The Vault of Horror (1973). One-time brother-in-law of Jeremy Brett. Has a daughter, Alice (by his second marriage to Penelope Wilton) and a son, Paul.
Was bitten by the acting bug after seeing Ralph Richardson perform on stage in the role of Falstaff.
Was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Disease in the early 1990s
Was educated at Eton and Cambridge University, where he first acted in amateur plays and revues. Made his Broadway debut in 1956 and had a long career as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.