A handsome and intense New Zealand native, Daniel Gillies has gone from struggling actor to known commodity virtually overnight. In his first major Hollywood movie, “Spider-Man 2” (2004), Gillies plays John Jameson, the love interest to Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson and natural rival to Tobey Maguire’s web-slinging Peter Parker. But just a few years ago, Gillies was struggling to make it in Los Angeles, even slaving away in restaurants and kitchens to pay the bills.
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, where his father was a pediatrician, Gillies moved to New Zealand while still young. Gillies eventually became a semi-famous actor on the island, his most prominent gig being a local television show called “Street Legal” (TVNZ, 2000-03) a drama about a group of lawyers who use unconventional means to obtain the truth so that justice may be served, but find that their personal lives are more difficult to manage. After measured success in New Zealand, Gillies moved to neighboring Australia in order to get a shot in that country’s more vital film industry. However, Gillies found his efforts unsuccessful and he soon moved on to the land of his birth.
While in Canada, Gillies appeared in “Various Positions” (2002), a coming-of-age drama about a law student from an Orthodox Jewish family who falls for a non-Jewish girl. Gillies didn’t spend much time in Canada before moving to Los Angeles, where, despite his credits, he hustled to find work. Unlike his experiences in Australia—he could barely get an audition, let alone find an agent willing to talk to him—Gillies found work almost right away. He appeared in the psychological thriller, “No One Can Hear You” (2001), starring Kelly McGillis, about an investigative reporter tracking a serial killer who may in fact be tracking her. Meanwhile, Gillies put in a few guest appearances on several television shows, including “Young Hercules” (Fox, 1998-99) and “Jeremiah” (Showtime, 2001- ) a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series where the survivors of a strange pandemic try to reorder their world.
Gillies then signed on to do a few large budget movies, including the blockbuster “Spider-Man 2”. In what seemed like an instant, Gillies found himself in the public eye, though this could have been due to his betrothal to actress Rachael Leigh Cook (“She’s All That”, “Josie and the Pussycats”). Gillies was also cast in “Bride and Prejudice” (2004), a musical adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice. Finally, Gillies was set to star alongside Estella Warren and Ashley Scott in the horror thriller “Trespassing” (2004), about a graduate student who ventures onto an old plantation only to find that all who enter go mad and die.