Daniel Sunjata Bio
If you are a fan of the Primetime Emmy- awarded series “Rescue Me”, you are certainly familiar with the character of Franco Rivera, a handsome firefighter, and the actor who portrayed this character was named in 2003 as one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. His name is Daniel Sunjata Condon, and besides his role in this comedy drama, he has over 45 acting credits to his name, and is also known best for his roles in series such as “Graceland”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “The Bronx Is Burning”, which brought him the Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special in 2008.
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Daniel has also starred in numerous movies, including “One for the Money”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, and “The Devil Wears Prada”, which in 2007 was nominated for two Oscars for Best Achievement in Costume Design, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Meryl Streep). Currently, his fans can enjoy his performance in the series “Power Book II: Ghost”, and it’s been announced that he’s cast to play Charlie Davenport in the TV mini-series “Echoes”, which should be released in late 2022.
Early life and education
Daniel was born under the zodiac sign of Capricorn on 30 December 1971, in Evanston, Illinois USA; his biological mother was a teenage white girl, while his biological father was African-American, but their names haven’t been revealed to him.
He was raised in Evanston by his adoptive parents, Catherine and Bill Condon, a civil rights worker and police dispatcher, who are of Italian-German and Irish descent, respectively. Daniel’s middle name is in honor of the Mandinka king, Sundiata Keita, and means ‘hungry lion’.
Speaking about his educational background, Daniel attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois, and upon matriculating in 1989, he enrolled at Florida A&M University, then he transferred to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, from which he graduated with a BA degree in 1993.
Although Daniel was into football from an early age, and played linebacker in high school, eventually he started thinking about an acting career, and thus enrolled into New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, where in 1996 he earned his Master of Fine Arts from its Graduate Acting Program.
Roles in movies
Daniel made his acting debut portraying Valentine in the 1998 movie “Twelfth Night, or What You Will”, and was next seen starring in “The Feast of All Saints” in 2001, followed in the next year by his role as Officer Carew in “Bad Company”.
In 2004, Daniel was cast to play Langston in “Brother to Brother”, and the same year, he was seen in “Noel” and “Melinda and Melinda”, before his portrayal of James Holt in “The Devil Wears Prada”, in 2006.
Three years later, Daniel starred in the romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”, followed by his roles in the 2010 movies “At Risk”, “The Front”, and “Weakness”, and then in 2012, he was seen in “One for the Money”, “Gone”, “Generation Um…”, and “The Dark Knight Rises”, also starring Tom Hardy, Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway.
In the 2014 drama “Lullaby”, Daniel was cast to play Officer Ramirez, and then three years later, he was Detective Whitman in “Small Town Crime”, while his most recent movie role was his portrayal of Mike Clybourne in “Christmas Again” in 2021.
Roles in series
Daniel made his first television appearance as Lewis Freeman in the series “D. C.”, in 2000, followed by his recurring role as Burt Trevor in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” from 2000 until 2004, while concurrently cast to play his most notable role for now, as Franco Rivera in the series “Rescue Me”, which was broadcast until 2011; he also guest-starred in “Sex and the City”, “Ed”, and “Love Monkey”.
In 2007, Daniel portrayed Reggie Jackson in the TV mini-series “The Bronx is Burning”, which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award, and he was seen as Eli Lloyd in eight episodes of the famous romantic drama series “Grey’s Anatomy” during 2010 and 2011, and then in 2013 as Peter Gilman in “Smash”.
In the same year, he was cast to play Agent Paul Briggs in the action crime drama “Graceland”, followed by his roles in “Notorious” in 2016, “Manifest” in ’18, “Happy!” in ’19, and in 2020, he was seen in “#Freerayshawn”, “The Twilight Zone” and “The Stand”. His most recent television role was his portrayal of Mecca in “Power Book II: Ghost”, a crime drama created by Courtney A. Kemp.
Love life and marriage
There have been various rumors both concerning Daniel’s love life and his sexual orientation – many people believed that he’s gay, simply because after he portrayed Darren Lemming, a gay character in the theatre play “Take Me Out”, however, in his interview for BuzzFeed, Daniel confirmed that he’s straight, but added that he has no problem with playing characters who have different lifestyles than him.
Daniel prefers to keep his private life away from the media’s attention, and when he was romantically linked with one of his fellow actresses, he stated that he has a strict rule about dating with his co-workers, and that dating in the workplace is out of the question.
Although he keeps his love life away from the public eye, and he has no social media accounts, back in 2006, he was seen with Rosalba Sierra, a girl whom he met in the restaurant in which she was working, and they were caught together a few times, shopping, attending parties or just walking. However, Daniel hasn’t spoken about this girl publicly, and their relationship today stays unconfirmed.
As of March 2022, it seems that Daniel is single, he hasn’t been married or engaged, and doesn’t have children.
Age, height, and net worth
This 50-year-old actor has black-grey hair and dark brown eyes; he weighs around 175lbs (80kgs) and is 6ft (1.85m) tall.
According to sources, Daniel’s net worth has been estimated at over $2 million, with most of his income earned from appearing in numerous movies and series.
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