Daniel Minahan (born 1962) is an American television director and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

Career

Minahan has directed several episodes of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

original series '' Six Feet Under'', ''

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

'', ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'', '' The Newsroom'' and ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

''; he has also directed episodes of the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning miniseries '' Fellow Travelers'' and ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' and on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

and ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. He also wrote and directed the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

'' Series 7: The Contenders''. He was also the writer (and

second unit director A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...

) for the 1996 film ''

I Shot Andy Warhol ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about Valerie Solanas' life and her relationship with Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of the Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lili Taylor as ...

''. Minahan joined the crew of the

western drama ''

'' as a director for the first season in 2004. The series was created by

David Milch David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (200 ...

and focused on a growing town in the American West. Minahan directed the episodes "Suffer the Little Children" and "Mister Wu". He returned as a director for the second season in 2005 and helmed the episode "Advances, None Miraculous". He remained a director for the third and final season in 2006 and helmed the episode "A Two-Headed Beast". Minahan directed the 2019 film continuation of ''Deadwood''. The

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

On Swift Horses ''On Swift Horses'' is a 2024 American romantic drama film directed by Daniel Minahan and written by Bryce Kass. Based on Shannon Pufahl's 2019 novel, it stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva and Sasha Calle. It ha ...

'', directed by Minahan and based on the novel by

Shannon Pufahl Shannon may refer to: People * Shannon (given name) * Shannon (surname) * Shannon (American singer), stage name of singer Brenda Shannon Greene (born 1958) * Shannon (South Korean singer), British-South Korean singer and actress Shannon Arrum Wi ...

, had its world premiere at the

2024 Toronto International Film Festival The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 5–15, 2024. The festival opened with David Gordon Green's film ''Nutcrackers (film), Nutcrackers'', and closed with Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film ''The Deb (fil ...

on September 7, 2024, and was released in the US by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

on April 25, 2025.

Personal life

Minahan majored in Film and Video at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in Manhattan, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in 1987. He is gay.

Filmography

TV Director

Film

*''

'' (1996) (co-writer with director

Mary Harron Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She co-wrote the screenplay and directed ''American Psycho'', '' The Notorious Bettie Page' and I Shot Andy Warhol.'' Early life Born in Bracebridge, Ontar ...

) *'' Series 7: The Contenders'' (2001) (writer and director) *''

'' (2024) (director)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minahan, Dan Place of birth missing (living people) 1962 births Living people Film directors from Connecticut American television directors American male screenwriters Hugo Award winners American LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors 21st-century American LGBTQ people School of Visual Arts alumni