Danny Strong has been learning the ins and outs of the film industry for a long time. Strong began his acting career by appearing in many T.V. shows and films like Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which are now considered classics in their genres, then went on to delve into screenwriting and began this phase of his life with flare with his Recount script in 2007, which was at the top of the Hollywood Blacklist, and eventually went on to win many awards as well.

Danny Strong also had a recurring role on the HBO hit show, Girls, in both seasons three and four.  He also performed in seasons five and six of the critically acclaimed show, Justified. However, he is still active in his work, currently appearing in Showtime’s Billions as Todd Krakow. Krakow is a hedge fund manager and rival of Damian Lewis’s character (and the main character of the show), Bobby Axelrod. Though Krakow resigns from his position in season five, Strong comes back to play him in season six, teaming with Mike Prince.

Sadly, Danny Strong wasn’t able to be seen as one of Hollywood’s most compelling leading men, Dean Martin. Though he did nab that role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his scenes were cut. Though last, one of his most memorable roles is as Jonathan in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Danny Strong is still approached on the street by Buffy fans.

Writing and Producing

At 25, Danny Strong was hoping to become a lead actor in his own film. To that end, he wrote a comedy about the challenges of the current real estate market by creating a tale of two men who kill an elderly man – but for his rent-controlled apartment. Unfortunately, the film was never finished, but it ignited a passion for scriptwriting. Soon, he wrote the very successful, Recount, about the debacle of the U.S. election in 2000. With a star-studded lineup, this film can be seen today on HBO Max.

Since then, Danny Strong has done writing for many different films and T.V. series, as well as directing and producing. After a while, Strong received many different awards for a number of projects, including a Golden Globe, two Emmys, a PGA Award, and two WGA awards. More recently, he was one of the executive producers of Dopesick, a movie about the opioid crisis that was nominated for the 2022 Peabody Award. Despite the heavy and depressing subject of Dopesick, Danny Strong was able to deliver a breathtaking series about the horrors of the opioid crisis.  [See recent interview]

Throughout Danny Strong’s long and successful career, he has utilized a variety of skills as he has shifted into different types and styles of films. A few examples of these are Recount and Game Change, both political drama pieces, the film that dealt with the topic of civil rights, The Butler, and the action-adventure film that became wildly popular: Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part I and II). Strong also helped create Empire, a hit T.V. show which earned him the NAACP Image Award, and he helped with the production of another civil rights film called The Best of Enemies. He also found work in theater with a variety of projects, some of which he wrote himself. He has continued this work ever since his debut at the Kennedy Center with the musical Chess.

Danny Strong went on to do the directing in many episodes for Empire. He started his career as a director with his work on Rebel in the Rye, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, he has been acting in a variety of parts, including recurring roles in popular T.V. shows like Mad Men, Girls, Justified, Billions, and The Right Stuff.

Early Life

Danny Strong was raised in Manhattan Beach, California, and attended the USC School of Dramatic Arts. His acting career started early. He frequently watched films that he got from a video rental store. It was at that rental store where he met and became friends with Quentin Tarantino, who was a clerk there at the time. He would spend lots of time simply chatting with him about movies, and Tarantino recommended many films that helped Strong broaden his film knowledge and understanding of genres at an early age.

Strong graduated from high school in Manhattan Beach, California, with a bit of film experience. His theatrical productions during his teenage years saw him as the lead, Ponyboy, in “The Outsiders” and in “Cabaret” as the Master of Ceremonies. He attended college with and co-starred in school stage productions with future prominent actors George Hertzberg and J. August Richards.

Danny Strong Now

Strong is celebrating his future and was engaged to actress Caitlin Mehner on December 29, 2016, after three years of dating. Their engagement started in Hawaii. He lives in a beautiful home near Tom Lenk and Adam Busch, both of whom were in the “Nerd Troika” with him on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Strong’s favorite episode during the filming of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) is Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Superstar, which aired in 2000. He also appeared in a test episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) that never aired. He did not join in on the main series until the second season was in full swing. When Strong auditioned for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), he was aiming to take the part of Xander, but instead got the role of Jonathon Levinson by season two. Strong also participates frequently in commercial radio voicework.