Daniel Franzese

Daniel Franzese (born May 9, 1978) is an American actor, comedian and activist best known for his roles in director Larry Clark's Bully and as Damian in Tina Fey's 2004 feature film Mean Girls.[1][2][3][4] Franzese is the creator of several live comedy shows including the 2011 rock opera Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera![5][6] and his one-man stand-up performance I've Never Really Made the Kind of Money to Become a Mess in 2013.[7]

Daniel Franzese
Franzese in May 2015
Born (1978-05-09) May 9, 1978
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • activist
Years active2001–present

After coming out as gay in 2014,[8] Franzese became more active in the fight for civil and human rights in the LGBTQ community;[9] and through his portrayal of the HIV-positive character Eddie in the second season of the HBO series Looking, and its subsequent series finale television film, Looking: The Movie, he has become a well known AIDS activist in the United States.[10] In 2015 he became an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.[11]

Early life

Franzese was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, the son of Denise, a lunch lady, and Ralph "R. J." Franzese, a lounge singer.[12] Franzese attended Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida from 1992 to 1996. His mother was a lunch lady at the school.

Career

Actor

Daniel Franzese has appeared in numerous feature films including Bully, Party Monster, Mean Girls, Bristol Boys and War of the Worlds.[13] He has also guest starred on several television series including The Comeback, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Burn Notice, Party Down, and the web series Foodies. He also had a main role in the 2010 film I Spit on Your Grave.

In 2015 he was cast as Eddie in the HBO series Looking;[14] and in 2016 he landed the role of Vern Testaverde in the ABC Family's Recovery Road.[15][16] In 2016 and early 2017, he portrayed Jackson Morrison in ABC's legal drama Conviction.[17]

Comedian

Franzese has written, directed and performed several live comedy productions, including his one-man Off-Broadway show, I’ve Never Really Made the Kind of Money to Become a Mess, which premiered in New York in 2013 at The Players Theater,[18][19] and his 2011 rock opera JERSEY SHORESICAL: A FRICKIN ROCK OPERA! which also premiered in New York at The Fringe Festival[20][21] before its run in Los Angeles at the Hayworth Theatre.[22] Franzese is also an emerging stand-up comedian, and has performed on stages across America at clubs like Stand Up Live in Phoenix and the Comedy Store in Hollywood.[23][24]

Franzese has been a guest panelist on the Logo TV comedy game show Gay for Play Starring RuPaul[25] and was the host of Gay Skit Happens, a comedy sketch show also Logo TV.[26]

Franzese's stand up comedy tour, YASS You're Amazing!,[27] is playing colleges, clubs and theaters around the world. He has also headlined The Burbank Comedy Festival, The Ruby LA Queer Comedy Festival. In 2019, Franzese performed his hit New York comedy show Danny Franzese and The House Of Glen Coco at SF Sketchfest[28] featuring his pick of the best and brightest in queer comedy.

Curator

On October 12, 2007, Franzese curated his first art show called Halloween, a multi-artist show which examined celebrity, vanity, money and the day we get to dress up and ask strangers for goodies.[29]

On April 25, 2008, at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery in Los Angeles, California, Franzese curated an art show called depARTed. The show featured art inspired by stars that died before their time. All art was inspired by famous personalities from Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, James Dean and Anna Nicole Smith to notable figures like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., to artists like Keith Haring and Isabella Blow. Artists included Ron English, Keyth Ryden (also known as KRK Ryden), and Jessicka.[30][31]

Franzese's show, Crusaders and Haters, at Royal/T gallery showcased an assortment of work from artists from all over the world, depicting superheroes and villains in pop culture. The show opened July 17, 2009.[32]

Activist

After penning a coming out letter to his Mean Girls character Damian in 2014, in which the actor spoke of his admiration for the courage Damian displayed as an outwardly gay teenager and referring to him as an icon for gay youth, Franzese became an influential voice in the LGBTQ community.[33][34] When he became an official ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, organizations like GLAAD invited Franzese to host their 2015 gala in San Francisco.[35] He also presented the GLAAD playbook on HIV and AIDS to MSNBC on behalf of the organization.[36] His reputation as an activist grew after he was awarded the role of Eddie in the HBO series Looking, an HIV-positive activist for a non-profit organization and during his time portraying Eddie, Franzese used his celebrity to promote messages of acceptance and understanding for people living with HIV[37][38] at special events, through media appearances, and a speeches at college campuses, including The University of Wisconsin in April 2016.[39]

Franzese is also an ambassador for LAMBDA Legal,[40] which is dedicated to decreasing the stigma associated with people living with HIV, and changing current HIV-related laws.[41][38]

On March 22, 2019, Franzese partnered with Lonely Whale and Bacardi for a campaign urging Unicode to remove all emoji plastic straws called "The Future Doesn't Suck".[42][43]

In September 2019, Franzese was an ambassador and the host for the AIDS Walk Atlanta & 5K Run,[44] a fundraising and awareness campaign that raises funds to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide critical social services and healthcare for people living with HIV. He was also the captain of his team for the event: Team Glen Coco.

Personal life

In 2016, Franzese proposed to his boyfriend of two years, stylist Joseph Bradley Phillips, at a Starbucks in North Hollywood, California.[45][46][47][48] Their engagement was called off in July 2018.[49]

Filmography
"Daniel Franzese in Lights" Photo by Tommy Agriodimas
YearTitleRoleNotes
2001BullyDerek Dzvirko
2002Hometown LegendAbel
2002Blood Feast 2: All U Can EatAltar Boy
2003Party MonsterThe Rat / Dallas MC
2003Queens SupremeDavidEpisode: "Pilot"
2004Mean GirlsDamian
2004StatesideDanny Tripodi
2004SoleadoBar Friend
2005War of the WorldsNational Guardsman
2005The ComebackMr. HollywoodEpisode: "Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs"
2005Cruel WorldClaude Markham
2005Bristol BoysJake
2006CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationDean HardenEpisode: "Fannysmackin'"
2006WhirlygirlBig Clive
2006The Iron ManValeah
2008Bar StarzBig Mikey
2008Killer PadDoug
2009The Missing PersonAgent Craig
2009On the InsidePaul Warren
2009Kill TheoryFreddy
2010Party DownZiggy ChorofskyEpisode: "Cole Landry's Draft Day Party"
2010I Spit on Your GraveStanley
2010Burn NoticeDougieEpisode: Noble Causes
2011FoodiesDanny Domenica
2012Electric City
2012Foodfight!Twinkleton (voice)
2015LookingEddieSeries regular (season 2), 8 episodes
2015Mind Puppets
2016Recovery RoadVern Testaverde10 episodes
2016Looking: The MovieEddieTV film
2016-2017ConvictionJackson Morrison7 episodes
2018The Con Is On
2020RuPaul's Drag RaceHimselfGuest Judge, Episode: "Snatch Game"

References
  1. Rosen, Christopher. "This 'Mean Girls' Reunion Is Not Like A Regular Reunion". HuffPost.
  2. Scott, A. O. (2001-07-13). "FILM REVIEW; Deadpan Decadence, With a Sneer of Disgust". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. "Review: 'Bully'". Variety. 2001-07-06.
  4. "'Mean Girls' star Daniel Franzese on coming out and joining season two of HBO's 'Looking'". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. "Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera Arrives in L.A., Co-Written by Danny Franzese (aka the Gay Friend in Mean Girls)". LA Weekly.
  6. "Jersey Shoresical' pokes fun at MTV reality series". today.com.
  7. "The Many Faces of Daniel Franzese". HuffPost. 2014-06-17. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  8. "'Mean Girls' Actor Daniel Franzese Comes Out". abcnews.go.com.
  9. "Out100: Daniel Franzese". out.com/. 2015-11-09.
  10. "Daniel Franzese: How a Mean Girls Teen Became an HIV Activist". advocate.com. 2015-03-20.
  11. "How a Mean Girls Teen Became an HIV Activist". elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org.
  12. "Daniel Franzese Biography (1978–)". Filmreference.com. 1978-05-09. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  13. "The Verdict is in – I Spit on Your Grave 2010 Review". 2012-10-15.
  14. Iannucci, Rebecca (August 27, 2014). "Mean Girls' Daniel Franzese Lands Looking Role — Who Will He Court?". TVLine. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  15. "Recovery Road: Production Begins on New ABC Family TV Series". TVSeriesFinale.com. April 24, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  16. Andreeva, Nellie (February 10, 2015). "ABC Family Series Recovery Road Tweaks Cast; Jessica Sula To Play Lead". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  17. Andreeva, Nellie (July 29, 2016). "Conviction: Daniel Franzese Joins New ABC Legal Drama Series In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  18. "Daniel Frances's I've Never Really Made the Kind of Money to Become a Mess to begin 12/19 Off-Broadway". broadwayworld.com.
  19. "Exclusive Interview with "Recovery Road" Star Daniel Franzese". talknerdywithus.com. 2016-01-23.
  20. "Introducing The Jersey Shoresical!". perezhilton.com. 2011-08-26.
  21. "GLEE-SIDE HEIGHTS". intouchweekly.com.
  22. "'Jersey Shore' goes from MTV to theater stage". latimes.com. 2012-05-24.
  23. "Daniel Franzese". standuplive.com.
  24. "Daniel Franzese". thecomedystore.com.
  25. "About The Series". logotv.com.
  26. "Daniel Franzese: What To Expect On Logo's 'Gay Skit Happens'". accesshollywood.com/.
  27. Daniel Franzese Talks about his “Yass! You're Amazing! Comedy Tour”, retrieved 2019-10-09
  28. "Daniel Franzese's schedule for SF Sketchfest 2019". sfsketchfest2019.sched.com. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  29. "Daniel Franzese Presents a Halloween Themed Art Show in Hollywood". Lastheplace.com. 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  30. "The Working Actor Sits Down With: Daniel Franzese at The Working Actor". Theworkingactor.net. 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  31. Sabancontact, Stephen (2008-04-26). "Photos from The DepARTed exhibition". Worldofwonder.net. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  32. zippercut (2009-07-09). "Sneak Peek Crusaders and Haters art show". Zippercut.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  33. "Daniel Franzese Comes Out as Gay in Touching Letter to His Mean Girls Character Damian". usmagazine.com. 2014-04-22.
  34. Cavan Sieczkowski (2014-04-22). "'Mean Girls' Star Daniel Franzese Comes Out As Gay". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  35. "Daniel Franzese host of the #glaadgala SF, takes a stand against HIV and AIDS". edgemedianetwork.com. 2015-11-17.
  36. "Daniel Franzese on 'Looking,' TV's HIV+ Characters and More". edgemedianetwork.com.
  37. "'Mean Girls' star breaks barriers again as HIV-positive character". msnbc.com. 2015-03-22.
  38. "'Looking' Star Daniel Franzese Defends Danny Pintauro After His HIV Reveal". towleroad.com. 2015-10-19.
  39. "An Evening with Daniel Franzese". union.wisc.edu/.
  40. "Mean Girls' Daniel Franzese Engaged to Boyfriend Joseph Bradley Phillips — Relive Their Adorable Love Story". usmagazine.com. 2016-07-19.
  41. "'Mean Girls' star breaks barriers again as HIV-positive character". MSNBC. 2015-03-22.
  42. Limited, Bacardi. "Bacardi and Lonely Whale Urge Unicode to Remove All Emoji Plastic Straws On Behalf of One Bold Sea Turtle Sydney". www.3blmedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  43. "'Mean Girls' Star Daniel Franzese Takes on a New Kind of Plastics in PSA Against Single-Use Straws". Green Matters. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  44. "AIDS Walk Atlanta & Music Festival". secure2.convio.net. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  45. "'Mean Girls' actor Daniel Franzese gives Starbucks proposal". washingtonblade.com. 2016-07-19.
  46. "Daniel Franzese Got Engaged at Starbucks, and His Proposal Stunt Is Cuter Than Latte Art". cosmopolitan.com. 2016-07-20.
  47. "Watch Mean Girls actor Daniel Franzeses propose to his boyfriend in Starbucks where they first met". mirror.co.uk. 2016-07-21.
  48. "Daniel Franzese Dishes On His Real-Life Starbucks Marriage Proposal". accesshollywood.com.
  49. Vasquez, Whitney (26 June 2018). "'Mean Girls' Star Daniel Franzese and Fiancé Call Off Engagement". The Blast. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
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