Daniel Benzali (born January 20, 1946) is a Brazilian retired stage, television and film actor.
Early life Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Lee, a cook, and Carlo Benzali, a salesman who had also been an actor in Brazilian theatre and Yiddish theatre. His family are Brazilian Jews. Daniel Benzali is the middle son of three. The family moved to the United States in 1953, and the boys were raised in Brooklyn, New York City.
Career
Theatre Benzali began his acting career as a theatre actor, including the Royal Shakespeare Company in Great Britain. His first performance was in Holiday at The Old Vic alongside Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell.
He also played musical theater, including a portrayal of Juan Perón in the West End cast of Evita. He played faded film director Max von Mayerling, alongside Patti LuPone, in the original (1993) cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. Benzali also appeared in US national tours of Fiddler on the Roof and Annie and other smaller regional productions.
In 2019, Benzali was slated to play the lead role in the London staging of Bianca Bagatourian's The Time Of Our Lies. He withdrew on opening night due to unforeseen circumstances.
Television and feature films In 1985, he was cast in the James Bond film A View to a Kill as W. G. Howe, the Californian director of Oil and Mines, based at San Francisco City Hall. The character was shot dead in his office there by Max Zorin (played by Christopher Walken).
Subsequently, he began appearing in guest-starring roles on television series such as Strong Medicine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, and in recurring roles in NYPD Blue and L.A. Law. NYPD Blue and L.A. Law creator Steven Bochco was so impressed with Benzali's performances that Bochco later cast him in the lead role of his 1995 series Murder One, playing attorney Ted Hoffman. For his performance, Benzali was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. The series was not especially successful (though highly regarded later), and Benzali left after its first season. Bochco later revealed that he fired Benzali because he refused to leave his home before he completed his morning bowel movement and was perpetually late to the set.
Benzali's stage performance in Holiday at The Old Vic so impressed director Anthony Page that Page cast him opposite Teri Garr in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie adaptation of Pack of Lies, a play by English writer Hugh Whitemore. Benzali also starred in the TV series The Agency and appeared in feature films including By Dawn's Early Light (1990), Murder at 1600 (1997), The Grey Zone (2001), and Suckers (2001). He appeared in the post-apocalyptic CBS series Jericho as the enigmatic former Department of Homeland Security director Thomas Valente. After that, he starred in the FX television series Nip/Tuck as Dr. Griffin.
In December 2010, Benzali joined ABC's General Hospital. Benzali played a character named Theodore Hoffman, a reference to his role on the mid-1990s television series Murder One.
Personal life
Benzali married Worcestershire potter Lynda Medwell in 1979 while acting in Great Britain. They were married six years.
Benzali and fiancée Kim Cattrall had a three year relationship. Benzali (then 51) and Cattrall broke up in 1997, just prior to her role in Sex and the City (1998–2004).
Benzali has been living in London and divides his time between England and the United States.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1983 Home Free All Therapist 1985 Insignificance First Theatrical Agent 1985 A View to a Kill W.G. Howe 1985 White Nights Dr. Asher 1986 Whoops Apocalypse William Kubert (US Defense Secretary) 1988 Messenger of Death Chief Barney Doyle 1989 Vietnam War Story: The Last Days Adams (segment "Dirty Work")1991 En dag i oktober Solomon Kublitz 1992 The Distinguished Gentleman 'Skeeter' Warburton 1997 Murder at 1600 Secret Service Agent Nick Spikings 1997 The End of Violence Brice Phelps 1998 Heist 'Big Fats' 1998 All the Little Animals Bernard 'The Fat' De Winter 1999 Suckers Reggie 1999 Her Married Lover Detective Joe Lansing 2000 Screwed Detective Tom Dewey 2001 Vegas, City of Dreams Dr. Sigmund Stein 2001 The Grey Zone Simon Schlermer 2002 Dead Heat Frank Finnegan 2007 If I Had Known I Was a Genius Walter
Television Year Title Role Notes1987Star CopsCommander Griffin1 Episode1988The Murder of Mary Phagen CoronerTelevision Film1988CrossbowMad Monk1 Episode1988–1993 L.A. LawDonald T. Phillips7 Episodes1989Beauty and the BeastEdward1 Episode1989Star Trek: The Next GenerationSurgeon1 Episode1990One Life to LiveJudge1 Episode1990-2006Law & OrderVarious Roles2 Episodes1991MatlockHenry Mayfield1 Episode1992The Last of His TribeMr. WhitneyTelevision Film1992AfterburnJohn PattersonTelevision Film1992Citizen CohnFrancis Joseph SpellmanTelevision Film1993–2003NYPD BlueJames Sinclair Esq.13 Episodes1994One West WaikikiDelacourt1 Episode1995The X-FilesColonel Wharton1 Episode1995-1996Murder OneTed HoffmanLead Role; 23 Episodes1997The Outer LimitsGraham Highfield1 Episode2001Boss of BossesBruce MouwTelevision Film2001–2003The AgencyRobert Quinn36 Episodes2002The DistrictRobert Quinn1 Episode2007–2008JerichoThomas Valente6 Episodes2009Eli StoneEmmet Bortz1 Episode2009Lie To MeJoseph Hollin1 Episode2010Nip/TuckDr. Griffin1 Episode2010-2011General HospitalTheo Hoffman54 Episodes2012CalifornicationLarry1 episode2015Agent XDavid Williams2 episodes
References
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