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Daniel MacPherson

Daniel MacPherson

Actor, also producer · Born April 25, 1980 (46) · Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Daniel Donald MacPherson (born 25 April 1980) is an Australian actor and television presenter, best known for his roles as Joel Samuels in Neighbours, Sergeant Samuel Wyatt in Sky and Cinemax's Strike Back, Whit Carmichael in the Shane Abbess sci-fi film Infini, and Arion Elessedil in The Shannara Chronicles. He has also co-hosted Dancing with the Stars for six years while simultaneously starring in a number of Australians dramas such as Wild Boys. MacPherson has a cameo role as Calvin's father in Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 25, 1980 (46)
From
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Works as
Actor, also producer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 27% in 30 days

What are Daniel MacPherson's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
33%
Bonds
26%
Morality
21%
Power
7%
Ideas
5%
Society
5%
Self
2%
Survival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 3

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 5 of 5 analyzed roles.

Hero
5 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
11
Melancholic
6
Thrilling
4
Hopeful
4
Dread
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet8
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Daniel MacPherson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Daniel MacPherson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

24 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Beast(2026)

    Producer · as Patton

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Land of Bad(2024)

    as Colonel Duz Packett

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Poker Face(2022)

    as Sam Levine

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Hopeful Romantic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Chris

  • Foundation(2021)

    Show 10 episodes · as Hugo Crast

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Bad Mothers(2019)

    Show 8 episodes · as Anton

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • A Wrinkle in Time(2018)

    as Calvin's Father

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • Generational Sins(2017)

    as Drew Caldwell

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • The Osiris Child(2016)

    as Kane Sommerville

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • The Shannara Chronicles(2016)

    Show 8 episodes · as Arion Elessedil

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Infini(2015)

    as Whit Carmichael

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Let Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    as Mark

  • The Cup(2011)

    as Jason Oliver

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Wild Boys(2011)

    Show 13 episodes · as Jack Keenan

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all shows

  • Strike Back(2010)

    Show 30 episodes · as Sergeant Samuel Wyatt

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • City Homicide(2006)

    Show 56 episodes · as Detective Senior Constable Simon Joyner

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • Tripping Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Show 6 episodes · as Ned

  • BlackJack: Dead Memory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Craig

  • Celebrities Under Pressure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Neighbours Revealed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 6 episodes · Actor

  • Sydney New Year's Eve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 2 episodes · as Host

  • Goosebumps(1995)

    Show 2 episodes · as Kid

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Neighbours(1985)

    Show 1,161 episodes · as Joel Samuels

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows

  • The Bill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 1,228 episodes · as Cameron Tait

Career shape

Star power in the 95th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 24 titles from 1984 to 2026; peak year 2015.

Biggest box office

Land of Bad (2024)

$7M worldwide

Highest rated

Strike Back (2010)

Midcredits 90th

Most popular right now

Foundation (2021)

Film career

19842026

Peak 2015 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 2 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1984Screen debut· The Bill
  • 2015First film· Infini
  • 2015First top-billed film· Infini
  • 2026Best so far· Beast

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting24 of 24: 24 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score44th

By decade

1980s2 · acting1990s3 · acting2000s4 · acting2010s10 · acting2020s5 · acting

Billing

usually 2nd · top billed in 33% of 6 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Daniel MacPherson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 29th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

29thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

30thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 16 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · actor

Neighbours (1985)

84th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Strike Back (2010)

Midcredits 90th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the acting 67/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Daniel MacPherson's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles52–91 · median 79 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles11–65 · median 22 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity6 titles57–87 · median 84 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles26–54 · median 51 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles46–78 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Daniel MacPherson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Daniel MacPherson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Luke Hemsworth shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers