Trivia

His parents broke up when he was quite young. Both he and sister Anna Massey were brought up by their British mother, Adrianne Allen. Their father Raymond Massey returned to the US and built a formidable acting career, rarely seeing his children. Anna reported seeing her father perhaps six times during her entire life.

His first film role was at age 9 in In Which We Serve (1942) wherein he played the son of Noël Coward, his real-life godfather. Some years later he played Coward in the film Star! (1968) with Julie Andrews for which he was honored with an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor.

He had several estrangements from both his parents and his sister Anna. He refused to appear opposite his father Raymond Massey in the play "I Never Sang For My Father", and the two had earlier had a difficult working relationship in The Queen's Guards (1961); its director, Michael Powell, later said it had been a mistake to cast them as father and son. His sister reported in her autobiography that he had frequently refused to speak to her when they worked together, or else was openly vituperative for no apparent reason. His worst relationship, though, was with his mother Adrianne Allen; he reviled her frequently in interviews, both before and after her death, and refused to attend her funeral. He also once likened her (in complete seriousness) to the notorious murderess Myra Hindley.

Son of actors Raymond Massey, who appeared with him in The Queen's Guards (1961), and Adrianne Allen. Nephew of Vincent Massey. Brother of Anna Massey, who appeared with him in The Vault of Horror (1973). One-time brother-in-law of Jeremy Brett. Has a daughter, Alice (by his second marriage to Penelope Wilton) and a son, Paul.

Godson of Noël Coward.

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for Star! (1968), in which he played Noël Coward, his real-life godfather.

He divorced his actress/wife Penelope Wilton, his co-star on stage in such stage productions as "Bloomsbury" (1974), "The Betrayal" (1978), "The Philanderer" (1979) and "Man and Superman" (1981) (for which he won a Laurence Olivier Award), and almost immediately married her sister, Lindy Wilton.

Daniel Massey's parents, Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen, were seeking a divorce and hired longtime friend and international lawyer, William Dwight Whitney, who was divorced from his wife, Dorothy Whitney. In 1939, Dorothy married Raymond, and Adrianne married William Whitney. Both couples lived "happily ever after". Daniel and his sister, Anna Massey, spent most of their childhood time in London with Adrianne and Bill and, during WWII, enjoyed many visits with their step-uncle, Roger Sherman Baldwin Whitney, M.D.

Was bitten by the acting bug after seeing Ralph Richardson perform on stage in the role of "Falstaff".

He, his father Raymond Massey and his younger sister Anna Massey all worked with Laurence Olivier: Raymond in Fire Over England (1937) and 49th Parallel (1941), Daniel in The Entertainer (1960) and Anna in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), David Copperfield (1970) and A Little Romance (1979).

Was educated at Eton and Cambridge University, where he first acted in amateur plays and revues. Made his Broadway debut in 1956 and had a long career as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.

He was awarded a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1982 (1981 season) for Best Actor in a Revival for "Man and Superman".

He was awarded the 1995 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Actor for his performance in Taking Sides.

Had an uncle, Vincent Massey, who was, at one-time, Governor General of Canada.

Was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Disease in the early 1990s.

His parents divorced in 1939.