English actor Ben Daniels was BOTD in 1964. Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, he developed an early interest in theatre, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He came out as gay in 1988, aged 24, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, despite warnings from agents and teachers that his career would be ruined. He proved them wrong, with an impressive career, including roles in a series of innovative gay-themed works. His big break came in 1991, with a TV adaptation of David Leavitt‘s gay-themed novel The Lost Language of Cranes, and a stage role as gay murderer Richard Loeb in John Logan‘s play Never the Sinner, earning him an Olivier Award nomination. In 1993, he starred in Joe Orton‘s sex comedy Entertaining Mr Sloane, forming a relationship with his co-star Ian Gelder. He made a vivid appearance as a middle-class hippy in Beautiful Thing, Hattie McDaniel’s 1996 film adaptation of Jonathan Harvey‘s teen gay romance. In 2001, he won an Olivier Award for a London revival of Arthur Miller’s drama All My Sons. He made his Broadway debut in a 2008 revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. His television work includes playing closeted gay writer Saki in the film Who Killed Mrs De Ropp, spymaster Francis Walsingham The Virgin Queen, a randy photographer in House of Cards, and was a memorably fruity Antony Armstrong-Jones in the third season of Royal drama series The Crown. In 2021, he played gay psychiatrist W. H. R. Rivers in Benediction, Terence Davies‘ biopic of war poet Siegfried Sassoon. He returned to the stage in 2022 for a London revival of Larry Kramer‘s AIDS-themed play The Normal Heart, earning a second Olivier Award. Daniels and Gelder remained together until Gelder’s death in 2024. He lives in London; his relationship status is unknown.