Real Name:
Daniel E Butler

Date of Birth:
December 2nd 1954

Place of Birth:
Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

Spouses:
None

Dan Butler was born on December 2nd 1954 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. At family gathering he was often the source of entertainment. It was this that made him decide to go into acting.

His performance debut was in a local production of The Music Man. Dan joined the Indiana-Purdue theater group whilst in high school, and during his tenure there he received a national Irene Grant for acting studies. He first met Kelsey Grammar whilst they were theatre apprentices at San Diego.

Dan's Broadway debut was the US premiere of The Hot House by Harold Pinter. On Broadway, he also starred in Biloxi Blues. Other plays he has appeared in include The Lisbon Traviata, True West and Much Ado About Nothing at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. Dan has also appeared in local performances in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Providence

It was his performance in The Lisbon Traviata that a casting director saw him sought him for the role of Bulldog. From 1993 to 1995, Dan served as the associate artistic director of the Road Theater Company in Van Nuys, California, and he received a Critic's Choice Award for his work as a director of that organisation's production of The Walkers.

Dan's TV credits include regular roles on Hey Arnold!, playing Arnold's teacher Mr Simmons. He also had a regular role in Roseanne between 1991 and 1992, playing a character named Art. Dan has guest starred in programmes such as Picket Fences, Caroline in The City (this seems pretty popular for Frasier actors to appear in!!!), The X-Files and Just Shoot Me.

Besides appearing in two Hannibal Lector films, Silence Of The Lambs and Manhunter (his film debut), Dan's appeared in the films Rising Sun, I Love Trouble, The Long Walk Home, Longtime Companion and The Fan.

It is his role as Bulldog that he is most famous for however. Dan thinks it is hilarious that an openly gay man is playing such a womaniser. Dan has been openly gay for years and has had no problem with his sexuality. In fact, he has currently produced his one man show, The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me, in which he plays 14 different characters. He says the show is about "what being gay means". The show has won him Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations.

Dan made his directorial debut when he directed the Frasier episode "Frasier Gotta Have It" (Ep 114). He decided to leave the show at the end of Season 6, though he returned as a guest role in a few episodes after that and may return for more in the future.

Dan lives in LA. In his spare time, he likes to go camping, hiking, travelling, riding his bike and writing screenplays.