O'Neill, Daniel Patrick
Of Italian and Irish stock, Daniel Patrick O'Neill the youngest of three brothers was brought up in a family owned restaurant in a small village just outside the city of Cambridge, England. A world away from the glitz and glamor that his career was to take him. Daniel became interested in the Martial Arts from a very early age and after watching hundreds of Hong Kong ac ...  show all 

O'Neill, Daniel Patrick
Of Italian and Irish stock, Daniel Patrick O'Neill the youngest of three brothers was brought up in a family owned restaurant in a small village just outside the city of Cambridge, England. A world away from the glitz and glamor that his career was to take him. Daniel became interested in the Martial Arts from a very early age and after watching hundreds of Hong Kong action movies young O'Neill had found his idle 'Jackie Chan'. Daniel began training in Tae Kwon Do and acrobatics putting himself through vigorous training sessions everyday for years he became a 'super kicker' and an accomplished acrobat but for Daniel living in England and seeing a future in shows and corporate events didn't quite satisfy his hunger to express his art, so, on his nineteenth birthday he bought a ticket that would change the rest of his life, with little more than a few hundred pounds to his name, and against the wishes of his family, he left for Hong Kong, where he was to stay for the next five years, learning how it all works. After finding an agent it wasn't easy for Daniel. Surviving on 'Extra' jobs here and there and even taking up English teaching. Daniel soon realized his dream was going to be a lot tougher than he imagined. Things got worse for Daniel when his school closed down, he refused to let his family see his failure and give up on his dream so he took to the streets and was officially homeless in Hong Kong. Daniel continued training in parks and survived long enough to get some auditions for action movies. He finally started working with the Hong Kong stunt men, it was here where his style really took form. Already being great at kicks Daniel wanted to be more complete, so, he trained boxing, Wushu, Chinese acrobatics, fight reactions, stunt falls and even did break dancing. Daniel's name got around quickly and before long he had worked with some of Hong Kong's finest Action Directors, including Donnie Yen, Samo Hung and even having a one on one fight scene with his idle Jackie Chan in 'Twins effect'. Daniel still felt he had much more to give and decided to branch out into acting. After booking various commercials and modeling jobs it became obvious he had the looks and skills needed. Daniel relocated to Bangkok Thailand to continue his career in a place where they love action movies. It was a paradise for him and a place where he could continue to develop his style as a screen fighter. Years passed and although Daniel would work quite regularly, due to the low payments in Thailand he was forced to live like a local and occasionally struggled to make ends meet. At the age of twenty six he was seriously considering to pack his bags. It was around this time he received a call be a supporting actor in an action movie called 'Bangkok Adrenaline'. Daniel agreed and was asked to do a TV show with the Thai star. As Daniel came on the stage whispers could be heard from the audience, he did some martial arts and they went wild. Within days Daniel was offered the lead role. He then became the first foreigner to play the lead in an Asian action movie in which he truly manages to express his art both in front of the camera and behind, officially putting a stamp in the martial arts action world with this now international movie.
  hide