Danny Donnelly
Danny Donnelly is an actor, director, writer, and filmmaker from Philadelphia, Pa. Growing up, he was always an athlete playing various sports including ice hockey, basketball, and football. When he wasn't playing sports, Danny spent his time watching movies, drawing and painting. He excelled as an artist early on, winning a few drawing contests while in middle school, which led him to pursue sports and art in High School. He was even given the job as the cartoonist for the school newspaper while in high school and college. Danny attended Temple University as a Biology major, but quickly switched to Broadcast Journalism when he realized chemistry was not what he enjoyed. While attending Temple University, he was also working for the facilities department at University of Pennsylvania and he would split his time between work and classes every day. While working at Penn, Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen was going into production and was going to be shooting on University of Penn's campus. The location scouts for the film were in contact with Danny's boss and when they were meeting one day, they suggested that Danny be an extra. On set, Danny felt at home. Already a self proclaimed film buff, he loved being on set and witnessing how films were made. Getting to meet Shia Labeuf and watching the actors work was enthralling and that's when it happened. Danny was bit by the acting bug. Still unsure if he should try it out, his little brother Casey Donnelly who started acting classes around the same time, pressed him to pursue it. So Danny declared a minor in Theatre at Temple University and began taking acting classes. He fell in love with the craft and knew this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He had a natural talent for acting and though he loved the training at Temple, he didn't want to wait to start working. He never finished the hours required for his minor because Danny started to book independent film and theatre jobs while at Temple. Right after college, he auditioned for and was accepted into Lee Edward Coston's Philadelphia Meisner Technique Intensive. There, he learned to take risks and fail, nurture his talent and excel at his craft. As an Actor, Danny has appeared in over 50 films and TV shows, ranging from independent films to studio projects. Most recently he worked on TV in AMC's "Dispatches From Elsewhere" directed by Jason Segel, and the feature independent films "The Arrangement", "Not For Nothing", and "Last Known Location". When he's not on a film set, Danny loves getting back to the stage. His most recent theatre credits are as "Brian Murphy" in South Camden Theatre Company's production of "By the Water", and as "Winston Smith" in The Barnstormer's production of "1984". Being an actor who loved movies and always saw the "whole picture" when acting, Danny quickly fell into writing and directing. His first short film, a raw "found footage" take on PTSD titled "Welcome Home" in which he wrote, produced, directed and acted, was a local hit and won numerous film festival awards. This achievement led him to pursue more opportunities behind the camera. From directing to producing to camera operating to sound mixing to editing, Danny has done it all, making him the well rounded filmmaker and artist he is today. His most recent directing and editing credits include, "Something Borrowed" a short film, "Certifiable" the series, "Recipes For Love" Episode 1 "Brownie Points", and the feature film "Last Known Location". As of 2021, Danny and his life partner, actor and writer Aimee Theresa, started their own film production company, Silver Octopus Productions, with the short film "Something Borrowed" and the feature film "Last Known Location" being their first projects released under the new company name.