Born March 13, 1976 in Garden City, Long Island, New York, Daniel Peter Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That ‘70s Show.
His parents were Carol, who was his manager and Peter Masterson, a State Farm Insurance Agent. His parents divorced in 1984. He is of Irish descent. Masterson’s stepfather, Joe Reaiche, played professional rugby league on the Australian National Rugby League’s Sydney City Roosters. He has a brother, Christopher Masterson, who portrayed the unruly Francis on Malcolm in the Middle. His younger siblings are paternal half-brother Will Masterson, maternal half-brother Jordan Reaiche, and maternal half-sister Alanna Reaiche. Jordan and Alanna are both actors who have been credited professionally with their half brother’s surname Masterson, though it is not the surname of either of their parents.
At the age of 16, Masterson moved to Hollywood. He attended Garden City High School until the tenth grade. He finished high school education with the use of independent home schooling, instead of a public school, because acting jobs became more frequent and lengthy. He later went to Pasadena Art Center, but dropped out after a semester because acting consumed too much of his time.
Danny Masterson began modeling at age four before segueing into acting. By his early twenties, he was already a veteran, having had regular roles in four TV series, as well as numerous guest appearances on other shows, and a significant foray into films, not to mention appearing in over one hundred commercials. In 1993, Masterson starred as a regular on the sitcom “Joe’s Life” (ABC), playing Leo Gennero, the teenaged nephew of the title character. This short-lived comedy series only aired ten episodes, but the young actor was on his way, making his film debut in “Beethoven’s 2nd” later that year. The tall, slender, curly-haired actor next landed a recurring role as Darlene’s new boyfriend on the sitcom “Roseanne” as well as guest appearances on “NYPD Blue”. “Party of Five” and “American Gothic”.
Masterson provided the comic relief as Skeeter, a snowboarding thrill-seeker, in the ill-conceived ABC adventure drama “Extreme” (1995) and had supporting roles in the TV-movie “Her Last Chance” and the miniseries “Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story” (both NBC, 1995). More impressive was his small but significant role in 1995′s “Bye Bye, Love”, as a less-than-wholesome friend to Paul Reiser’s troubled daughter. Not exactly a parental favorite in the movies, Masterson took a beating from John Travolta in the action-packed “Face/Off” (1997) after the boy got forceful with his daughter (played by Dominique Swain). That same year he also acted in the children’s film “Star Kid” and the little-seen “Trojan War”. Masterson’s TV luck changed during the 1997-1998 season when he joined the regular cast of CBS’ “Cybill” as Justin Thorpe, the teenaged son of Maryann (Christine Baranski), who was also the love interest of Cybill’s daughter Zoe (Alicia Witt). The young actor moved into another regular series role the following season on “That ’70s Show” (1998- ), playing Steve Hyde, the slightly more sophisticated of the six suburban Wisconsin teenagers in Fox’s retro comedy.
Masterson is a Scientologist. Danny has also been involved with the New York Rescue Worker Detoxification Project, a controversial organization with ties to the Church of Scientology. He has been dating Bijou Philips since 2005, and they became engaged in 2009, and subsequently married on October 18, 2011.
Danny Masterson Photo Gallery
