Biography

Sean Daniel, p.g.a., has built a nearly 50-year career in the entertainment industry. As a producer and studio executive, Daniel has helped shape the vernacular of modern cinema, overseeing some of the most widely beloved, critically acclaimed films ever made. Daniel joined Universal Pictures in 1976, and only nine years later, at the age of 34, he became the youngest production president in the studio's history. During his tenure, Daniel supervised the financing and production of such acclaimed films as National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Brazil (1985), Field of Dreams (1989), Do the Right Thing (1989), Back to the Future (1985), Born in East L.A. (1987), Midnight Run (1988), Rumble Fish (1983), Missing (1982), Weird Science (1985), Uncle Buck (1989), Fletch (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), Darkman (1990) and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983).

At Universal, Daniel founded the production company Alphaville Films, later joined by James Jacks, and developed and produced 1999's blockbuster action adventure The Mummy (1999), starring future Academy Award® winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Daniel produced the four subsequent films in the global franchise: The Mummy Returns (2001), which launched the film career of Dwayne Johnson, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), The Scorpion King (2002) and The Mummy (2017). All told, the franchise has earned almost $2 billion worldwide.

Daniel also produced Malcolm D. Lee's hit romantic comedy The Best Man Holiday (2013), Richard Linklater's classic Dazed and Confused (1993); the renowned western Tombstone (1993); Nora Ephron's supernatural comedy Michael (1996); Joel and Ethan Coen's Intolerable Cruelty (2003); the Chris Rock/Weitz brothers' comedy Down to Earth (2001); the rap-music comedy CB4 (1993), also with Chris Rock; and John Woo's first American film, Hard Target (1993).

Daniel's recent credits include Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), which he produced with Guillermo Del Toro, Richard Linklater's feature Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), and the documentary Belushi (2020).

On the series side, Daniel served as an executive producer on the Netflix phenomenon The Witcher (2019), Peacock's The Best Man: The Final Chapters (2022), the acclaimed Amazon series The Expanse (2015), based on James S.A. Corey's New York Times best-selling book franchise, and Graceland (2013), from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin. Additionally, Daniel executive produced the TNT original film Freedom Song (2000), directed by Phil Robinson and starring Danny Glover; HBO's Everyday People (2004); and the USA Network's four-hour mini-series Attila (2001), starring Gerard Butler.

Daniel received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973.
- IMDb mini biography by: Sean Daniel, p.g.a.