The man in the McDonalds "What can I get for a dollar?” advertising campaign for the Dollar Menu is in fact actor Daniel Eric Gold, who plays Matt in Ugly Betty. He has featured in national commercials for both McDonalds and insurance company Aflac, and has a long line of acting roles both on and off screen. His filmography dates back to 2005, while his theatre performances began much earlier.
Daniel Eric Gold was born September 19th 1975 in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of biochemist Benjamin K. Gold and artist and calligrapher Susan E. Gold. His father was American and of European-Jewish descent, while his mother is English. The pair met while working together in Los Angeles. Daniel Eric Gold grew up in California, as well as New York’s Long Island and Rockland County.
As a teenager, he attended Lee Strasberg’s Theatre Institute before going on to graduate with a degree in Theatre Arts from Penn State in 1996. After graduating college, Gold moved to Chicago where he performed as Michael in Jean Cocteau’s Indiscretions, Oak Park Festival’s Much Ado About Nothing and Patrick Marber’s Dealer’s Choice. The success of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing saw him, along with the rest of the cast, move to Cherry Lane Theatre in New York. He continued to play roles in New York’s West Village before turning his attention to film. He had a number of roles including ones in War of the Worlds, Definitely Maybe and Spinning into Butter, finally landing his TV debut role as Matt Hartley in Ugly Betty. He has a number of upcoming roles that include Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Last Night and The Harvest. He received the 2004 Lucille Lortel Award for his acting in the Craig Lucas Obie winning play Small Tragedy.
Daniel Eric Gold was born September 19th 1975 in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of biochemist Benjamin K. Gold and artist and calligrapher Susan E. Gold. His father was American and of European-Jewish descent, while his mother is English. The pair met while working together in Los Angeles. Daniel Eric Gold grew up in California, as well as New York’s Long Island and Rockland County.
As a teenager, he attended Lee Strasberg’s Theatre Institute before going on to graduate with a degree in Theatre Arts from Penn State in 1996. After graduating college, Gold moved to Chicago where he performed as Michael in Jean Cocteau’s Indiscretions, Oak Park Festival’s Much Ado About Nothing and Patrick Marber’s Dealer’s Choice. The success of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing saw him, along with the rest of the cast, move to Cherry Lane Theatre in New York. He continued to play roles in New York’s West Village before turning his attention to film. He had a number of roles including ones in War of the Worlds, Definitely Maybe and Spinning into Butter, finally landing his TV debut role as Matt Hartley in Ugly Betty. He has a number of upcoming roles that include Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Last Night and The Harvest. He received the 2004 Lucille Lortel Award for his acting in the Craig Lucas Obie winning play Small Tragedy.
