Darren Jack Dalton (born February 9, 1965 is an American
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
,
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
, and
producerProducer may refer to an occupation:*Executive producer, supervises one or more producers*Film producer, oversees the making of films*Line producer, manages the budget and/or day to day running of a film production...
.
Dalton was born on February 9, 1965, in
Powell-Companies:* Powell's Books, largest independent seller of new and used books in the world* Powell Motor Company, defunct American motor vehicle company* Powell Peralta, skateboard company, that changed its name to Powell Skateboards...
,
WyomingWyoming is a state in the Western United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountain West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part of a high elevation prairie region known as the High Plains. While the tenth largest...
. He has one older and two younger brothers. As a teenager, he, his brother Eric, and their friends made up a rock band called "Regression". The band eventually ended when Dalton decided to pursue a career in acting.
He attended
Del Norte High SchoolDel Norte High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools system. Del Norte High School was established in 1964. This school is home to around 1500 students....
in Albuquerque,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
and graduated in 1983.
Dalton's career began in 1982 when cast as Randy Anderson by
Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an Italian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School...
during a nation wide talent search for the ground breaking teen ensemble
The OutsidersThe Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The movie was released in March 1983. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Jr...
.
After
The Outsiders Dalton reunited with
C. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas Howell , usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor. He is best known for having starred in the films The Outsiders and The Hitcher, as well as Soul Man, Red Dawn, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals.- Early life :Christopher Thomas Howell, nicknamed either "Tommy"...
and
Patrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries...
in
Red DawnRed Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed and co-written by John Milius and written by Kevin Reynolds. The film is set in an alternate timeline during the mid-1980s, and deals with an invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and its Central American allies. However, the onset of World...
, a story of a group of teenagers fighting Soviet Union troops who've invaded the United States.
Darren Jack Dalton (born February 9, 1965 is an American
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
,
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
, and
producerProducer may refer to an occupation:*Executive producer, supervises one or more producers*Film producer, oversees the making of films*Line producer, manages the budget and/or day to day running of a film production...
.
Early life
Dalton was born on February 9, 1965, in
Powell-Companies:* Powell's Books, largest independent seller of new and used books in the world* Powell Motor Company, defunct American motor vehicle company* Powell Peralta, skateboard company, that changed its name to Powell Skateboards...
,
WyomingWyoming is a state in the Western United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountain West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part of a high elevation prairie region known as the High Plains. While the tenth largest...
. He has one older and two younger brothers. As a teenager, he, his brother Eric, and their friends made up a rock band called "Regression". The band eventually ended when Dalton decided to pursue a career in acting.
He attended
Del Norte High SchoolDel Norte High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools system. Del Norte High School was established in 1964. This school is home to around 1500 students....
in Albuquerque,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
and graduated in 1983.
Acting career
Dalton's career began in 1982 when cast as Randy Anderson by
Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an Italian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School...
during a nation wide talent search for the ground breaking teen ensemble
The OutsidersThe Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The movie was released in March 1983. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Jr...
.
After
The Outsiders Dalton reunited with
C. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas Howell , usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor. He is best known for having starred in the films The Outsiders and The Hitcher, as well as Soul Man, Red Dawn, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals.- Early life :Christopher Thomas Howell, nicknamed either "Tommy"...
and
Patrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries...
in
Red DawnRed Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed and co-written by John Milius and written by Kevin Reynolds. The film is set in an alternate timeline during the mid-1980s, and deals with an invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and its Central American allies. However, the onset of World...
, a story of a group of teenagers fighting Soviet Union troops who've invaded the United States. Dalton portrayed Daryl Bates, the son of the mayor, who was forced to swallow a signal emitter and is eventually shot.
After
Red Dawn, Dalton's first made-for-television movie was
The Brotherhood of Justice as a rebellious teenager, followed by
DaddyDaddy is a 2001 Telugu film.The movie has Chiranjeevi and Simran in title roles and was produced by Allu Aravind on Geeta Arts banner under the direction of Suresh Krishna. The film was an average performer at the boxoffice...
and the short-lived, but critically acclaimed TV ensemble drama
The Best Times. He has also had numerous TV guest appearances on
Highway to Heaven,
Quantum Leap,
Alien Nation and as General Custer on
Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman. Shortly after, he returned to theatrical releases, such as
Dancing in the Forest and
The Wolves.
Turning to screenwriting full time, Dalton did not appear in any other TV shows or movies until 2007's
The Stolen Moments of September. After the movie, he fully returned to acting, in
War of the Worlds 2,
Children of the Hunt,
Darkroom(which he also Executive Produced and provided music for), The 3-D zombie thriller
Day of the Living and
The Day the Earth Stopped which Dalton also wrote and produced, and
The Land That Time Forgot, which Dalton adapted from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel.
Personal life
In his single days, Dalton lived with
C. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas Howell , usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor. He is best known for having starred in the films The Outsiders and The Hitcher, as well as Soul Man, Red Dawn, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals.- Early life :Christopher Thomas Howell, nicknamed either "Tommy"...
and his mother in Calabassas, California. The two currently remain good friends.
On August 8, 1993, Dalton married actress Kristen Hocking Dalton, his co-star in
The Wolves, who appeared in
The DepartedThe Departed is a American crime drama film remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The Departed was directed by Martin Scorsese, written by William Monahan and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga and Mark Wahlberg...
as
Jack NicholsonJohn Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director and producer. He is renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters....
's sweetheart. The two were divorced in 2009. Darren's family includes his father Jack Dalton, mother
Karen Dalton, brothers Eric, Kirk and Anthony and cousin Austin Cunningham.
Filmography
- The Outsiders
The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The movie was released in March 1983. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Jr...
- National Lampoon's Joy of Sex
National Lampoon's Joy of Sex is a 1984 film directed by Martha Coolidge. It was written by Kathleen Rowell and J.J. Salter, based on the sex manual by Alex Comfort...
- Red Dawn
Red Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed and co-written by John Milius and written by Kevin Reynolds. The film is set in an alternate timeline during the mid-1980s, and deals with an invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and its Central American allies. However, the onset of World...
- The Brotherhood of Justice
- Daddy
Daddy is a 2001 Telugu film.The movie has Chiranjeevi and Simran in title roles and was produced by Allu Aravind on Geeta Arts banner under the direction of Suresh Krishna. The film was an average performer at the boxoffice...
- Dancing in the Forest
- Montana
Montana is an American crime film released in 1998, directed by Jennifer Leitzes, written by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber, and produced by Sean Cooley, Zane W. Levitt, and Mark Yellen....
- To Protect and Serve
- Scanner Cop
Scanner Cop is a 1994 movie. It's the fourth film in the Scanners series and the first film in the Scanner Cop series. It was written, produced, and directed by Pierre David.-Plot Summary:...
- Hourglass
An hourglass, also known as a sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer, is a device for the measurement of time. It consists of two glass bulbs placed one above the other which are connected by a narrow tube. One of the bulbs is usually filled with fine sand which flows through the narrow...
- Pure Danger
- Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs may refer to:* Sleeping Dogs , a New Zealand film by Roger Donaldson* Sleeping Dogs , a novel by Sonya Hartnett* "Sleeping Dogs" a song by Merril Bainbridge...
- The Stolen Moments of September
- Darkroom
A darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 1800s...
- War of the Worlds 2
- Children of the Hunt