Daniel Zovatto
Daniel Zovatto-Blanco (born June 28, 1991) is a Costa Rican American film and television actor. Since 2012, he has starred in films of the horror genre, Beneath (2013), It Follows (2014), and Don't Breathe (2016), as well as the romantic comedy Laggies (2014). Zovatto made his television debut in 2014, guest starring in an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He has since held recurring roles as Gideon LeMarchal in Revenge (2014), and Jack in Fear the Walking Dead (2016). In 2018 he appeared in one of the lead roles in HBO's Here And Now, and a year later he was cast in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels as the series protagonist, which premiered in 2020.
Daniel Zovatto | |
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Born | Daniel Zovatto-Blanco June 28, 1991 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2012–present |
Partner(s) | Tara Holt (2017-present) |
Relatives |
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Early life and career
Daniel Zovatto Blanco was born in San José, Costa Rica, on June 28, 1991, he is the son of television personality, Sylvia Blanco and named after his father, Daniel Zovatto Garetto, an Argentinian politician. Zovatto's desire to become an actor began at an early age when he would join his mother on set of her talk shows in Costa Rica, and attributes his fascination for the horror genre to his father after he scared him as a child while watching Stanley Kubrick's The Shining subsequently he adopted the nickname 'Danny' as the child protagonist of the horror film. [1] After moving to New York City, Zovatto initially pursued theatre and was cast in two short films, 55 Days and The Return. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he made his feature film debut in the 2013 horror movie, Beneath, as Johnny. The independent film, released on May 3, 2013, was directed by Larry Fessenden, and marked Zovatto's first main role in a film. Later that year, he starred as Neils Hirsch in the horror drama film Innocence, opposite Linus Roache and Stephanie March.[2]
In 2014, Zovatto made his television debut in season one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "Seeds". From May to October 2014, Zovatto had a 3 episode arc in ABC's soap opera drama series Revenge. His character, Gideon LeMarchal, dates Charlotte Grayson (Christa B. Allen) in the third and fourth seasons of the series. Zovatto's next film project was the romantic comedy Laggies, in the role of Junior, alongside actors including Chloë Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, and Mark Webber. This was followed with his breakthrough role in the 2014 supernatural horror film, It Follows, as Greg Hannigan.[3] The film received widespread critical acclaim.[4]
Zovatto played a leading role in Don't Breathe, a horror film directed by Fede Álvarez. Cast as the character Money, the film premiered on March 12, 2016, at the South by Southwest film festival, and received a theatrical release in the U.S. on August 26, 2016. Although the film is set in Detroit, it was primarily shot in Hungary, with only a few views of the Detroit ruins shot in Detroit.[5] In 2016, Zovatto had a recurring role on AMC's horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead, during the show's second season.[6] While he does not appear in the premiere episode of season two, "Monster", Jack (Zovatto) is heard conversing with Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), after the latter responds to his distress calls over the radio. Debnam-Carey and Zovatto's characters share a romance in the succeeding episodes "Blood in the Streets" and "Captive", despite Jack and accomplices of his have kidnapped Clark and her stepfather.[7] The same year he appeared in an episode of From Dusk Til Dawn TV series as Tommy.
In 2017 Zovatto had smaller roles in film appearing in Greta Gerwig's critically acclaimed Lady Bird starring Saoirse Ronan and Newness starring Nicholas Hoult he also appeared in an episode of Dimension 404 "Cinethrax” opposite Sarah Hyland.
Later he was cast in one of the main roles in HBO's dark comedy drama series Here And Now opposite Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter as Ramon, one of the adopted siblings of a multiracial family. Ramon was born in Colombia and adopted as a baby, he is in a relationship with free-spirited Henry (Andy Bean). The family begins to struggle as Ramon starts hallucinating and seeing the figures 11:11 constantly. The series premiered in February 2018 and was canceled by HBO after 1 season.
Zovatto returned to film with two independent movies, Vandal [8] and Heavy. Vandal is the story of Nick Cruz, also known as "Damage," a young, highly talented graffiti writer and artist, struggling to justify the world of illegal graffiti as he experiences loss, love and the consequences he created for himself. The movie premiered on March 7 2019 at Miami Film Festival. Although the movie hasn't had a theatrical release it received positive reviews [9] [10] and Zovatto was invited to Variety’s "10 Latinxs to Watch" brunch held in partnership with the 36th annual Miami Film Festival celebrating rising Latino filmmakers and actors. [11]
Heavy, opposite Sophie Turner is a revenge thriller set in New York, it centers on a drug addicted, codependent couple, Maddie (Turner) and Seven (Zovatto) living it up in the high-end drug scene leading to unavoidable tragedy. The film premiered in Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and is set to have a worldwide theatrical release in 2020.
Zovatto could not attend the ceremony as he was in Los Angeles filming John Logan's crime fantasy drama Penny Dreadful: City of Angels where he plays the series protagonist, Santiago "Tiago" Vega [12] a young Chicano detective struggling between two worlds, his love for his job in LAPD and his love for his family and Mexican heritage in a brutally racist Los Angeles, 1938. Opposite Natalie Dormer the demoness making racial violence worse. The series premiered in April, 2020 on Showtime, in August Showtime announced its cancelation.
He is next starring in the crime movie Flinch. Flinch tells the story of Joe Doyle (played by Zovatto) a young Hitman that catches feelings for Mia (played by Tilda Hervey) the witness of a murder he committed. [13]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | The Return | Sebastian | Short film |
2012 | 55 Days | Raphael | Short film |
2013 | Beneath | Johnny | |
2013 | Innocence | Neils Hirsch | |
2014 | Laggies | Junior | |
2014 | It Follows | Greg Hannigan | |
2016 | Don't Breathe | Money | |
2017 | Lady Bird | Jonah Ruiz | |
2017 | Newness | Oren | |
2019 | Vandal | Nick 'Damage' Cruz | |
2020 | Heavy | Seven | |
2020 | Flinch | Joe Doyle | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Seth Dormer | Guest; episode: "Seeds" |
2014 | Revenge | Gideon LeMarchal | Recurring; episodes: "Execution", "Renaissance", "Disclosure" |
2016 | Fear the Walking Dead | Jack | Recurring; episodes: "Monster", "Blood in the Streets", "Captive" |
2016 | The Deleted | Logan | Recurring[14] |
2017 | Dimension 404 | Zach | Episode: "Cinethrax" |
2018 | Here and Now | Ramón | Main cast |
2019 | Penny Dreadful: City of Angels | Detective Tiago Vega | Main cast |
References
- https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/daniel-zovatto-penny-dreadful-city-angels
- "Daniel Zovatto: Biography and Filmography". Hollywood.com. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- Persaud, Christine (January 29, 2016). "Fear the Walking Dead casts It Follows star Daniel Zovatto". Digital Trends. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- Ritman, Alex (March 3, 2015). "U.K. Box Office: 'Exotic Marigold' Sequel Topples 'Fifty Shades'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- Dennis, Harvey (March 13, 2016). "SXSW Film Review: 'Don't Breathe'". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- Petski, Denise (January 28, 2016). "'Fear The Walking Dead' Casts Daniel Zovatto In Recurring Role". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- Ge, Linda (January 28, 2016). "'Fear the Walking Dead' Star Talks Jack and Alicia's Relationship". TheWrap. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- vandalthemovie.com
- https://chicanafromchicago.com/2018/08/22/10-outstanding-movies-made-by-latinos-coming-soon/
- https://remezcla.com/film/vandal-miami-film-festival/
- variety.com/2019/scene/news/10-latinxs-to-watch-brunch-variety-1203160298/
- https://www.deadline.com/2019/01/penny-dreadful-city-of-angeles-daniel-zovatto-cast-sequel-showtime-1202537123/
- https://imdb.com/title/tt9670414
- Petski, Denise (August 8, 2016). "'Orange Is The New Black's Madeline Brewer Among Seven Cast In Bret Easton Ellis' 'The Deleted'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 19, 2016.