Daniel Monks is an Australian actor and screenwriter.
Early life Monks was born in Perth, Western Australia, to actress and casting director Annie Murtagh-Monks, who was a graduate of Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), and performed her one-woman show, From Here to Maternity while seven months pregnant with Monk. As a child, Monks adapted and performed in school productions of several musicals, including Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.
At the age of 11, Monks was found to have a benign tumour on his cervical spinal cord. After undergoing the biopsy, medical negligence resulted in complications, including temporarily quadriplegia. It took six months for Monks to regain full function in his left side and partial function in his right leg, but his right arm remained paralysed. His tumour however, was successfully removed by Australian neurosurgeon Charlie Teo.
Monks subsequently gave up acting, assuming it would no longer be a feasible career path. He instead pursued the idea of filmmaking during his high school years, after which he went on to study at Sydney's Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and Perth’s PAC Screen Workshops.
Career Monk began his career making short films, many of which have screened at film festivals around the world, including Palm Springs International ShortFest. His shorts have also received several awards and honours. He was awarded the Young Filmmaker of the Year at the 2014 WA Screen Awards.
At the age of 23, Monks resumed his interest in acting once more. He wrote, starred in and produced 2017 drama feature film Pulse, based on his own life. That same year, he was a finalist for the 2017 Heath Ledger Scholarship. His performance in Pulse saw him nominated for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was also nominated for the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for his performance in the 2017 Malthouse Theatre presentation of The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man.
After venturing to London in 2018 when Pulse was invited to screen at BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, Monks signed an agent and relocated there a few months later, to further his career. He made his West End debut the following year, playing the lead in Teenage Dick, a modern reimagining of Shakespeare’s Richard III, at the Donmar Warehouse. In 2020, he won Best Performer in a Play at The Stage Debut Awards for his performance. Monks went on to perform in a contemporary take on Chekhov's The Seagull, playing Konstantin, opposite Game of Throness Emilia Clarke.
In August 2024, it was announced that Monks had been cast as Ser Manfred Dondarrion in the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The series premiered in 2026.
In 2025, Monks played Brian Irvine in the mystery thriller miniseries All Her Fault, and made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Orsino in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The following year, he appeared as Jamie Lawson in BBC One drama miniseries Waiting for the Out.
Monks is also a dancer, having begun with the Catalyst Dance Masterclass Series in 2013. He was a recipient of the 2014 Amplify your Art grant, which led to him being professional trained by Philip Channells / Dance Integrated.
Personal life Due to a medical misadventure he experienced as a child, Monks has hemiplegia of the right side to this day. His right arm is totally paralysed and his right leg has only partial function.
Monks is openly gay.
Awards and nominations Year Work Award Category Result Ref 2014 WA Screen Awards Young Filmmaker of the Year 2015 Daniel Monks NSW/ACT Young Achiever Awards Arts & Fashion Award 2016 WA Screen Awards Best Actor 2017 Daniel Monks Heath Ledger Scholarship 2018 Pulse AACTA Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role Busan International Film Festival Flash Forward Busan Bank Award The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Play Green Room Awards Best Male Actor in a Play 2020 Teenage Dick The Stage Debut Awards Best Performer in a Play
Performer credits
Film Year Title Role Notes Ref2013 The Ducks Jackson (lead) Short film Frankie & Clay Frankie (lead) Short film God & the Grey Area Harry Short film 2014 It's All About Me Dancer Short film Gold Cage Daniel (lead) Short film Gravel Vincent Short film 2015 Jackie Daniel Short film Marrow Daniel (lead) Short film Yummy Cuppy Albert Ashby (lead) Short film 2016 NDIA Video Adam Corelli (lead) Video Eric John (Lead) Short film 2017 Pulse Olly Feature film Marley, Someone Lloyd Feature film iLead eLearning Mockumentary Andrew (lead) Video 2018 Broken Matt (lead) Short film 2020 Perspective Shift Self Documentary 2022 Sissy Jamie Feature film National Theatre Live: The Seagull Konstantin 2024 In the Room Where He Waits Toby (lead) Ricky Stanicky Keith Feature film Weasel Frankie VS Uncle Elton Weasel Frankie Short film
Television Year Title Role Notes Ref 2017 Go Happy Feet! Dan (lead) 2018 #AiFUpload TV short 2019 Silent Witness Barrister Delaney 1 episode The Split Mr Latham 1 episode 2023 Dead Hot Eugene Crumlish Miniseries, 2 episodes 2024 Kaos Nax Miniseries, 5 episodes 2025 It Gets Worse Graham Waiting for the Out Jamie Lawson Miniseries, 3 episodes All Her Fault Brian Irvine Miniseries, 7 episodes 2026 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Ser Manfred Dondarrion 5 episodes Untitled Peaky Blinders Sequel Series #1 Detective Inspector Bell In production
Stage Year Title Role Notes Ref2013 Second Skin Dancer Catalyst For the End (24 Hour Play Project) Hunter (Lead) Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney 2014 Beyond Technique (residency) Dancer Dance Integrated Australia The Corner Dance Lab Dancer Dance Integrated Australia & The Animal Farm Collective Melting Pot Residency Dancer Bankstown Arts Centre, Sydney It's All About Me (solo) Dancer Dance Integrated Australia 2015 Bedside Manner – 24 Hour Party Ben (lead) Tamarama Rock Surfers, Sydney Bower Birds Flame (lead) Murmuration Dance Theatre Strip (play reading) Monty Tamarama Rock Surfers, Sydney Fitting into Wageni (as part of ASYLUM) Lefti Apocalypse Theatre Company The Wonderful World of Dissocia Goat / Biffer / Ensemble The Kings Collective 2016 Orpheus Orpheus (lead) Lies, Lies and Propaganda / Suspicious Woman Productions Ordinary Sin (play development) Various Company of Rogues 2017 The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man Joseph Merrick (lead) Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne The Normal Heart Staged Reading for Marriage Equality Felix Turner Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney Frank Enstein Frank (lead) The Farm, co3 & Bleached Arts 2017–2018 Are We Awake? Hypnos (lead) Old Fitz Theatre, Sydney, Kings Cross Theatre with Red Line Productions 2019 Teenage Dick Richard (lead) Donmar Warehouse, London Lord of the Flies Roger Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney with STC 2020; 2022 The Seagull Konstantin (lead) ATG, London with Jamie Lloyd Company 2021 The Normal Heart Mickey Marcus National Theatre, London 2024–2025 The Cherry Orchard Pyotr Trofimov Donmar Warehouse, London, St Ann'a Warehouse, NYC 2025 Twelfth Night Orsino Barbican Centre, London & Royal Shakespeare Company
Writer/director/producer credits
Film Year Title Role Notes Ref 2009 Love Like There's No Tomorrow Writer / director Short film 2010 Herman and Marjorie Writer / director / producer / editor Short film 2011 Wild Imaginings Writer / director / producer / editor Short film Charlotte Writer / director / producer / editor Short film 2012 Pretty Writer / director / producer / editor Short film Dear Life Writer / director Short film 2015 Marrow Writer / producer Short film 2017 Pulse Writer / producer / editor Feature film 2018 Broken Writer / producer Short film 2022 Sissy Writer / producer Feature film
References
External links
Daniel Monks at Curtis Brown Daniel Monks at Philip Channells Daniel Monks at Independent Management Company