Daniel Franzese began his career all over the country with various regional and national theater tours. He landed his first commercial when he was 11 years old; however, his mother told him acting wasn't a life for a young child. She wanted him to perform in school instead. He attended college at Florida School of the Arts and majored in Musical Theatre. In 1998, Daniel quit to pursue a stage career. Larry Clark and casting director Carmen Cuba found Daniel while scouting for locations for Clark's true crime masterpiece Bully.


Cuba and Clark had been searching high and low for an actor with the capability to play the tender, sad, depressed Cousin Derek based on real life murder accomplice Derek Dsverko in the 1993 killing of young teen Bobby Kent. Daniel eventually won the role of Derek and has gone on to make many more films including a true crime confetti drug fest Party Monster with Macualy Culkin and Seth Green where he plays various roles including a Giant Rat. He played Danny Tripodi in Stateside with Val Kilmer, and Whirlygirl with Monet Mazur.

He has finished filming the Lorne Micheals produced Paramount feature Mean Girls starring opposite Lindsey Lohan and Tina Fey. Daniel currently has four films lined up for the year 2008. Daniel resides in Los Angeles in an apartment.