Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1983-02-09

Place of Birth

Battersea, London, England, UK

Daniel Francis

Biography

Daniel Asher Francis (born 9 February 1983, Battersea, London, England) is an English actor, active since 2007. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company after graduating. He also produced and directed eight short documentaries depicting the human impact of technology. His first major on-screen role was Sgt Carl Haleford in the 2012 ITV war drama Homefront, and his feature film debut was Sean Warren in the sports drama Fast Girls (2012). He is best known for Esmond Smith in the Education installment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe (2020), Dave Shaw in the Netflix miniseries Stay Close (2021), Dr. Facilier / Baron Samdi in Once Upon a Time (2017–2018, 8 episodes), and Lord Marcus Anderson in Bridgerton (2024–present, 11 episodes). His filmography includes the short films The Shot (2011), In and Out (2016, as Josh), and Cla'am (2017, as Low Beak), and the feature Don't Move (2024, as Officer Dontrell Carter). On television he has also appeared in EastEnders (2003), Law & Order: UK (2010, as Louis Francis), Eternal Law (2012, as Captain Caple), Holby City (2013, as Joey Ryan), Liaison (2023, as Albert Onwori, 6 episodes, with Eva Green and Vincent Cassel), and The Wheel of Time (2023, as High Lord Turak, 2 episodes).

Known for

Once Upon a Time

There is a town in Maine where every story book character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth and only one can break the spell.

Bridgerton

Wealth, lust, and betrayal set in the backdrop of Regency era England, seen through the eyes of the powerful Bridgerton family.

The Wheel of Time

The lives of five young villagers change forever when a strange and powerful woman arrives, claiming one of them is the child of an ancient prophecy with the power to tip the balance between Light and Dark forever. They must choose whether to trust this stranger – and each other – with the fate of the world before the Dark One breaks out of His prison, and the Last Battle begins.

Liaison

Two agents—and former lovers—must work together to combat international cyberattacks threatening the UK while also confronting the buried secrets of their destructive relationship.

Small Axe

An anthology series of five stories looking at the lives of a group of friends and their families in London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early 80s.

Stay Close

When Carlton Flynn vanishes 17 years to the night after Stewart Green did, it sets off a chain reaction in the lives of people connected to both men.

Don't Move

A grieving woman in a secluded forest encounters a killer who injects her with a paralytic drug. As her body shuts down, her fight for survival begins.

Fast Girls

A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

Homefront

The remarkable families of the soldiers serving in war torn Afghanistan.

In and Out

Cla'am

A dark, surreal comedy about a local man who becomes convinced that a vast conspiracy is behind the impossibly rapid gentrification in his London area. But is it all in his head, or is the truth even darker than he imagines? Cla'am is the debut short from Nathaniel Martello-White, one of the UK's leading young playwrights.