User:Danielhayes

Daniel Hayes Daniel Hayes, a Toronto-bred writer/producer/actor and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, recently completed his supporting role in the feature film “Going Down in La La Land,” to be released in 2011. He is now poised to begin work on two upcoming movies, “The Silver Chain” and “Finding Larry.”

Biography
Daniel Hayes, a Toronto-bred writer/producer/actor and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, recently completed his supporting role in the feature film “Going Down in La La Land,” to be released in 2011. He is now poised to begin work on two upcoming movies, “The Silver Chain” and “Finding Larry.”

A 2009 alum of Second City Toronto, Hayes competed in the Toronto 48-Hour Film Challenge in 2009. To complete the Challenge, Hayes wrote, produced, and shot a short futuristic love story in just 48 hours. He also starred in the lead role and was nominated for the Best Actor award.

Thanks to his exotic Trinidadian-Venezuelan heritage, Hayes, now 25, was already a published print model at age 17. Realizing his love of acting while attending Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, on an athletic scholarship, Hayes decided to major in theatrical studies. At 21, he landed his first commercial with And1, which was quickly followed by a Nike television spot. The following year, he played a marine in his first short film, “Boot Camp,” and later that year began studying at Second City.

Hayes played a criminal suspect the 2008 short film “The Police Story,” and in 2009 he wrote, produced, and acted in the lead role of “Modern Day Gladiator,” a movie depicting the life of a professional MMA fighter. This film was later entered into the LA Film Festival.

A lifelong sportsman, Hayes played basketball on his high school team at Cawthra Park Secondary in Mississauga, Ontario. At 16, he was already a certified lifeguard and an amateur boxer. Though he was recruited to play basketball for several NCAA Division 1 and 2 schools, he chose instead to stay in Canada and take advantage of his athletic scholarship.

Hayes’ interest in kinesiology, the study of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement, carries through to his training as an MMA fighter. As a certified personal trainer, Hayes also enjoys using his physical abilities to help others reach their fitness goals.