Daniel Franzese

Daniel Franzese (born May 9, 1978) is an American actor.

Early life

Franzese was born in Bensonhurst, New York, the son of Denise, a lunch lady, and Ralph "R. J." Franzese, a lounge singer. Franzese attended Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida from 1992 to 1996. His mother was a lunch lady at the school.

Actor

Franzese has appeared in more than fourteen films, including Bully, Party Monster, Mean Girls, Bristol Boys and War of the Worlds.

Starting in 2011, Franzese was also featured in the web series Foodies. He portrayed Eddie in the 2015 second season of the HBO series Looking, and reprised the role for the 2016 finale special, Looking: The Movie. Franzese also starred as Vern Testaverde in the 2016 Freeform series Recovery Road. In July 2016, Franzese was cast as series regular Jackson Morrison in the ABC legal drama series Conviction.

Curator

On October 12, 2007, Franzese curated his first art show called Halloween, a multi-artist show which examined celebrity, vanity, money and the day we get to dress up and ask strangers for goodies.

On April 25, 2008, at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery in Los Angeles, California, Franzese curated an art show called depARTed. The show featured art inspired by stars that died before their time. All art was inspired by famous personalities from Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, James Dean and Anna Nicole Smith to notable figures like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., to artists like Keith Haring and Isabella Blow. Artists included Ron English, Keyth Ryden (also known as KRK Ryden), and Jessicka.

Franzese's show, Crusaders and Haters, at Royal/T gallery showcased an assortment of work from artists from all over the world, depicting superheroes and villains in pop culture. The show opened July 17, 2009.

Personal life

On April 22, 2014, Franzese came out publicly as gay, stating that while his friends and family knew, it was time "everyone knew the truth". In July 2016, he got engaged to his partner Joseph Bradley Phillips.

Filmography