Daniel Phillip Henney (born November 28, 1979) is an American actor and model. He first came into international prominence with his television debut as Dr. Henry Kim on the
Korean drama
Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea.
They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...
''
My Lovely Sam Soon
''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (, lit. ''My Name Is Kim Sam-soon'') is a South Korean television series based on the internet novel of the same title by Ji Soo-hyun, which was published on March 9, 2004. Touted as the Korean version of '' Bridget Jones's ...
'' (2005).
He has gone on to star in films such as ''
Seducing Mr. Perfect
''Seducing Mr. Perfect'' (Mr. 로빈 꼬시기), alternatively known as ''Seducing Mr. Robin'', is a South Korean film, released on December 7, 2006. It was written and directed by Kim Sang-woo and stars Uhm Jung-hwa as Min Joon and Daniel Henney a ...
'' (2006), ''
My Father
''My Father'' () is a 2007 South Korean film. The film, which is based on a true story, is about an adopted son who is searching for his biological parents in South Korea. During his search he meets his real father, a condemned murderer on death r ...
'' (2007), ''
X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009), ''
Shanghai Calling
''Shanghai Calling'' is a 2012 American romantic-comedy film written and directed by Daniel Hsia and produced by Janet Yang. Starring Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe, and Bill Paxton, ''Shanghai Calling'' is a story about a group of Americans from di ...
'' (2012), ''
The Last Stand'' (2013), ''
One Night Surprise'' (2013), and ''
Big Hero 6'' (2014). In television, he has starred in the Korean ''
Spring Waltz
''Spring Waltz'' () is a 2006 South Korean television series starring Seo Do-young, Han Hyo-joo, Daniel Henney and Lee So-yeon. It is the fourth and final installment of season-themed tetralogy '' Endless Love series'' directed by Yoon Seok ...
'' and as well as US television series ''
Hawaii Five-0
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...
'' and ''
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders''. He joined the regular cast of ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'' for its 13th, 14th and 15th seasons. He currently stars as Lan Mandragoran in the
2021 adaptation of ''
The Wheel of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in ad ...
''.
Early life
Henney was born on November 28, 1979 in
Carson City, Michigan.
His mother Christine Henney, an
American adoptee from
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
, South Korea, was a nurse.
His father Philip Henney, an American of British and Irish descent,
worked in a factory.
He was a star basketball player at Carson City-Crystal High School and led the Eagles to the
MHSAA Central region (CSAA) 2nd-place finish during his senior year in 1998.
Henney attended various colleges—including
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014.
They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...
,
Alma College
Alma College is a private liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Alma College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and offers bachelor ...
and
Elgin Community College—but never completed his college studies due to his burgeoning modeling career. He was credited on many
online portal
A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displayin ...
s for a time to have had graduated with an economics degree from the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
. However that was proven to be false when an academic scandal in 2007 revealed that several South Korean social figures and celebrities, such as
Choi Soo-jong
Choi Soo-jong (born December 18, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Choi made his debut in 1987 as a young actor in the TV soap opera ‘Love Tree’. He has appeared in movies, on television and as an MC for various award shows. He has received worl ...
and
Jang Mi-hee, had falsified their academic records.
Career
Henney moved to South Korea after having lived on and off in Hong Kong and Taiwan for four years. While in New York in 2004, he did some work
Off-Broadway while auditioning for television shows.
Henney started modeling in the U.S. in 2001 and worked in France, Hong Kong, and many more while attending college. After his debut in South Korea with an advertisement for the
Amore Pacific
Amorepacific Corporation is a South Korean beauty and cosmetics chaebol, operating more than 30 beauty, personal care, and health brands including Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, Etude House, AMOREPACIFIC and Innisfree. The firm was founded in 19 ...
's cosmetic "Odyssey Sunrise", he became a spokesperson for commercials with
Jun Ji-hyun
Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun on 30 October 1981), also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) f ...
for
Olympus cameras and
Kim Tae-hee
Kim Tae-hee (; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), ''Love Story in Harvard'' (2004), '' ...
for Daewoo Electronics's Klasse air conditioners. Henney is signed with DNA Models in New York under the celebrity division.While modeling in South Korea for Olympus in 2005, he was scouted by a talent manager who got Henney a role in the Korean drama ''
My Lovely Sam Soon
''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (, lit. ''My Name Is Kim Sam-soon'') is a South Korean television series based on the internet novel of the same title by Ji Soo-hyun, which was published on March 9, 2004. Touted as the Korean version of '' Bridget Jones's ...
'', aka ''My Name is Kim Sam Soon''.
Henney, who did not speak any Korean, was cast as an Asian American physician Henry Kim
who struggled with the language.
He played a supporting role in a
love triangle between female lead Hee-jin (
Jung Ryeo-won
Jung Ryeo-won (born January 21, 1981) is a South Korean-born Korean Australian actress. She began her entertainment career as a singer in the now-defunct girl group Chakra, and first rose to fame in the hit television series '' My Name Is Kim S ...
) and restaurateur Hyun Jin-heon (
Hyun Bin
Kim Tae-pyung (born September 25, 1982), better known as Hyun Bin, is a South Korean actor. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2005 romantic comedy TV drama '' My Name is Kim Sam-soon''. Since then, he has appeared in leading ...
).
The show was widely popular, with over half of South Korean households estimated to have watched the finale.
Henney then starred in another romantic drama ''
Spring Waltz
''Spring Waltz'' () is a 2006 South Korean television series starring Seo Do-young, Han Hyo-joo, Daniel Henney and Lee So-yeon. It is the fourth and final installment of season-themed tetralogy '' Endless Love series'' directed by Yoon Seok ...
'' as Philip, a foreign music manager, in 2006.
He resumed his modeling career when he was featured in a
Bean Pole
BEANPOLE established in 1989, is a South Korean fashion brand owned by SAMSUNG C&T Fashion group. It produces seven distinctive lines (BEANPOLE MEN, BEANPOLE LADIES and BEANPOLE KIDS); as well as accessories (BEANPOLE ACCESSORY), golf wear (BEAN ...
campaign with
Gwyneth Paltrow.
Henney made his feature film debut in another romantic comedy ''
Seducing Mr. Perfect
''Seducing Mr. Perfect'' (Mr. 로빈 꼬시기), alternatively known as ''Seducing Mr. Robin'', is a South Korean film, released on December 7, 2006. It was written and directed by Kim Sang-woo and stars Uhm Jung-hwa as Min Joon and Daniel Henney a ...
'' (2006), which coincided with pop star
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
's debut in ''
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
''I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK'' ( ko, 싸이보그지만 괜찮아; ''Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchana'') is a 2006 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Park Chan-wook.
Plot
The film takes place mostly in a mental institution filled with an ecl ...
'' (2006).
His second film, ''My Father'', won multiple awards in South Korea and Henney became the first foreigner to sweep all the major cinema awards in the Best New Actor category.
He later learned the language and appeared on a few variety shows, such as ''
Family Outing
''Family Outing'' (; also known as ''Family Outing Season 1'') was a South Korean comedy-variety show; part of SBS's ''Good Sunday'' lineup, along with ''Gold Miss is Coming'' (골드미스가 간다). It first aired on June 15, 2008, and was ...
''.
His first American role was as
Agent Zero
David North (Christoph Nord) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was originally known as Maverick, and more recently as Agent Zero. The character first appeared in ''X-Men'' #5 and was created by wri ...
in the film ''
X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009).
In the fall season of 2009, he played "Dr. David Lee" in the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television drama ''
Three Rivers''.
In 2010, Henney returned to South Korea television for
KBS2's ''
The Fugitive: Plan B'', alongside
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
and actress
Lee Na-young
Lee Na-young (born February 22, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in TV Series ''Ruler of Your Own World'' (2002), ''Ireland'' (2004) and ''Romance Is a Bonus Book'' (2019) and film '' Someone Special'' (20 ...
.
Since 2012, Henney has appeared in several American TV series.
Henney starred as Special Agent
Matt Simmons
Matthew Roy Simmons (April 7, 1943 – August 8, 2010) was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent figure in the field of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis to create an invest ...
in the American television series ''
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders'', a spin-off of ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
,'' for two seasons from 2016 to 2017. After the ''Beyond Borders''
's cancellation, it was announced in June 2017 that Henney's Matt Simmons would continue on ''Criminal Minds'' as a series regular for season 13. He remained a part of the cast until the series concluded in
season 15.
In September 2019, Henney was cast in the supporting role of
Lan Mandragoran
This article serves as an index of major characters in the fictional setting of Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, with a description of their main roles or feats in the series. ''The Wheel of Time'' has 2787 distinct named characters. ...
in
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
's
adaptation of
Robert Jordan
James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan," Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the n ...
's fantasy epic ''
The Wheel of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in ad ...
''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
See also
*
Hines Ward
Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...
—
NFL player of African and Korean descent who brought interest in the sport to South Korea
*
Sean Richard Dulake — American actor of Korean and British descent who acted in Korean dramas
References
External links
Daniel Henneyon DNA Model Management's website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henney, Daniel
21st-century American male actors
Living people
Albion College alumni
American male actors of Korean descent
American models of Korean descent
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of Irish descent
American people of South Korean descent
Male actors from Michigan
Male models from Michigan
South Korean people of American descent
South Korean people of Irish descent
People from Carson City, Michigan
1979 births
Alma College alumni