Daniel Shor (born November 16, 1956) is an American actor, director, writer, and acting teacher with a career spanning over 40 years. His most recognized roles include Enoch Emery in John Huston's Wise Blood (1979), Pete Brady in Strange Behavior (1981), Ram in Tron (1982), and Billy the Kid in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989).
Early life
Shor was born and raised in New York City. He attended McBurney School from the 6th through the 8th grade. His mother, an actress, died when he was 14. He graduated from Elisabeth Irwin High School (June 1974) and began at Northwestern University that fall. He returned to New York, where he landed the lead role of Alan Strang in the first national company of Equus.
Acting
Shor's studies continued at the Davis Center for Performing Arts at the City College of New York and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in England.
While in London, he appeared with Nigel Planer in Ann Jellicoe's punk rock musical play The Sport Of My Mad Mad Mother at The Roundabout Theater. After leaving London for Los Angeles (due to his casting in the title role in the ABC mini-series Studs Lonigan), he produced and reprised his role in his own version of Jellicoe's play, changing the setting from London to New York. Three months later, the set from the production was used in Billy Idol's classic music video for the song "Dancing With Myself".
He has continued with stage work at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.
Writing, directing
In 1995, Shor directed for the LA Diversified Theater Company, a multi-cultural theater alliance. He directed the Ovation Award winning production of He Who Gets Slapped starring Bud Cort at the Hudson Theater, as well as productions at the LA Theater Center, Company of Angels, Court, Zephyr, Two Roads and LA Jewish theaters. His productions have received more than 30 Dramalogue, Ovation and LA Weekly awards.
Shor's credits include two screenplays co-written with Czech film director Jiri Weiss. Shor has worked in videos and shows including "Life On Film: Rock", "Ecomaniacs", "State of Liberty", "Fish Out of Water" and over 30 short videos for the Saipan and Guam Visitors Channels. His recent work includes Bigfoot Entertainment and Fashion TV's reality show Screen Test. He has also taught acting at the International Academy of Film and Television in Cebu, Philippines.
Filmography
Film
Acting
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1979
|Wise Blood
|Enoch Emory
|
|-
|1981
|Back Roads
|Spivey
|
|-
|1981
|Strange Behavior
|Pete Brady
|
|-
|1982
|Tron
|Roy Kleinberg / "Ram"
|
|-
|1982
|Talk to Me
|Julian Howard
|
|-
|1983
|Strangers Kiss
|Farris, the Producer
|
|-
|1983
|Strange Invaders
|Teen Boy (Prologue)
|
|-
|1984
|Mike's Murder
|Richard
|
|-
|1986
|Mesmerized
|George
|
|-
|1986
|Black Moon Rising
|Billy Lyons
|
|-
|1988
|Daddy's Boys
|Hawk
|
|-
|1989
|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
|Billy The Kid
|
|-
|1990
|Solar Crisis
|Harvard
|
|-
|1990
|Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College
|Professor
|
|-
|1993
|Doppelganger
|Stanley White
|
|-
|1993
|Red Rock West
|Deputy Bowman
|
|-
|1997
|Air Force One
|Notre Dame Aide
|
|-
|1999
|Night Train
|Jones
|
|-
|2004
|Wild Roomies
|The Bartender
|
|-
|2009
|Passing Strangers
|Photographer
|Short
|-
|2011
|Tron: The Next Day
|Roy Kleinberg / "Ram"
|Short
|-
|2017
|Crown Heights
|District Attorney Snyder
|
|-
|2021
|Come Find Me
|Arthur
|
|}
Directing
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Notes
|-
|2011
|My Angel My Hero
|Short
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1978
|Once Upon a Classic
|Clarence / Sir Paragraph
|Episode: "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
|-
|1979
|Studs Lonigan
|Young Studs
|Miniseries
|-
|1979
|Friendly Fire
|Prince
|TV movie
|-
|1980
|If Things Were Different
|Eric
|TV movie
|-
|1980
|The Boy Who Drank Too Much
|Art Collins
|TV movie
|-
|1980
|A Rumor of War
|Manhole
|Miniseries; 2 episodes
|-
|1981
|Knots Landing
|Bobby
|Episode: "Step One"
|-
|1982
|The Blue and the Gray
|Luke Geyser
|Miniseries; 3 episodes
|-
|1983
|This Girl for Hire
|Punk
|TV movie
|-
|1984
|My Mother's Secret Life
|Jack Camaras
|TV movie
|-
|1985–86
|Cagney & Lacey
|Det. Jonah Newman
|20 episodes
|-
|1988
|Murder, She Wrote
|Pierce
|Episode: "Murder Through the Looking Glass"
|-
|1988
|Beverly Hills Buntz
|Terry Dickstein
|Episode: "Terry and the Pirates"
|-
|1989
|Beauty and the Beast
|Bernie Spirko
|Episode: "What Rough Beast"
|-
|1989
|Thirtysomething
|Kit
|Episode: "Legacy"
|-
|1989
|Star Trek: The Next Generation
|Dr. Arridor
|Episode: "The Price"
|-
|1992
|Dark Justice
|Kellogg (Stafford's Attorney) (uncredited)
|Episode: "Instant Replay"
|-
|1993
|Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story
|Jass
|TV Movie
|-
|1993
|Against the Grain
|Sheriff
|Episode: "A House Is Not a Home"
|-
|1996
|Star Trek: Voyager
|Arridor
|Episode: "False Profits"
|-
|2000
|Judging Amy
|D.A. Daniel Boyd
|Episode: "The Burden of Perspective"
|-
|2002
|The X Files
|2nd ER Nurse
|Episode: "William"
|-
|2007
|Looking for America: A Saipan Story
|Sergei
|TV movie; also director
|-
|2015
|Blue Bloods
|Len Hardin
|Episode: "Rush to Judgment"
|-
|2017
|Bull
|Dr. Shepard
|Episode: "Teasher's Pet"
|-
|2019
|Jessica Jones
|Mathias Cole
|Episode: "A.K.A. Customer Service Is Standing By"
|-
|2022
|The Blacklist
|FJ Powell
|Episode: "Arcane Wireless"
|}
References
External links
- June 2003 Tron-Sector Q&A with Dan Shor (RAM)
- ShodaVision Official Site
- Article concerning Shor's production company in Saipan [https://web.archive.org/web/20060303075100/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=54182]
- "Principal photography wraps up on State" [https://web.archive.org/web/20070208021015/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=4&newsID=63231]
- Times Square Article: "Dan Shor is Cool as Hell"