You just watched HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, spotted the actor playing Ser Manfred Dondarrion, and immediately reached for your phone to search his name — only to find scattered fan wikis, outdated bios, and no single page that actually answers your question.
Who is Daniel Monks? How old is he? What’s the real story behind his disability? And is Ser Manfred Dondarrion set up to matter in the wider Game of Thrones universe?
Most articles either bury these answers in a decade-old interview or skip the disability context entirely, which is a disservice to an actor who has built his entire public platform around talking about it openly. This guide fixes that. Below, you’ll get a clear, accurate answer to Daniel Monks’ age, the real story of his disability, his career path from Perth to the West End to Westeros, and where his current HBO role fits into his broader body of work.
Who Is Daniel Monks?
Daniel Monks is an Australian actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker born in Perth, Western Australia, to Annie Murtagh-Monks, a NIDA-trained actress and casting director. He trained at Perth’s PAC Screen Workshops and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) before building a career spanning Australian and British film, television, and theatre.
He is best known for writing, producing, and starring in the 2017 drama Pulse, and more recently for playing Ser Manfred Dondarrion in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He is also an outspoken advocate for disabled and LGBTQ+ representation in the performing arts.
Daniel Monks is an Australian actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker known for the 2017 film Pulse, the Peacock series All Her Fault, and his role as Ser Manfred Dondarrion in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. & more blogs neural .
Daniel Monks’ Age and Background
Daniel Monks hasn’t publicly confirmed an exact birth date, but interview references help narrow it down. In a 2019 interview tied to his West End debut in Teenage Dick, Monks said he began writing Pulse at 20, shot it at 25, finished it at 27, and premiered it internationally at 28 — adding, “Now I’m 30.” A separate 2018 profile placed him at 28 years old that year. Together, those data points suggest Monks was born around 1988–1989, putting him in his late 30s as of 2026.
“How old is Daniel Monks?” — Based on his own interview timelines, Daniel Monks is in his late 30s as of 2026, though he hasn’t publicly shared an exact birth date.
Daniel Monks’ Disability, Explained
The Injury and Diagnosis
At age 11, Monks was found to have a benign tumor on his cervical spinal cord. During the biopsy procedure, medical negligence led to serious complications, including temporary quadriplegia. Over the following six months, he regained full function on his left side and partial function in his right leg, but his right arm remained permanently paralyzed. The tumor itself was later successfully removed by Australian neurosurgeon Charlie Teo. Monks lives with hemiplegia affecting the right side of his body to this day.
How It Shaped His Career Path
After the injury, Monks initially gave up on acting, believing it wasn’t a realistic path for a disabled performer, and turned to filmmaking instead during his high school years. He didn’t return seriously to acting until age 23. As he later told advocacy organization NDIS, disability representation carries real stakes: “We are so often excluded, so often invisible, so often spoken for.” That perspective became the throughline of both his advocacy work and his acting choices, including writing Pulse — a film built directly from his own experience.
Daniel Monks’ Career Timeline
Breakout With Pulse (2017)
Monks wrote, produced, edited, and starred in Pulse, a drama about a disabled teenager who undergoes surgery to change his body in a bid to be loved and accepted. The film earned him a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2018 AACTA Awards and won the Flash Forward Busan Bank Award at the Busan International Film Festival.
Stage Career in London and Australia
Monks built a significant theatre career on both sides of the world. In Australia, he was nominated for a 2018 Helpmann Award for The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man. After relocating to London, he starred opposite Emilia Clarke in The Seagull, appeared in the Olivier Award-nominated cast of The Normal Heart at the National Theatre, and won Best Performer in a Play at the 2020 Stage Debut Awards for his lead role in Teenage Dick — a modern retelling of Richard III — at the Donmar Warehouse. In 2025, he starred opposite Nina Hoss and Adeel Akhtar in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of The Cherry Orchard, which later transferred to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York.
Film and TV Roles (2022–2025)
Monks’ screen career accelerated in the following years. He appeared in the horror film Sissy (2022) and the comedy Ricky Stanicky (2023) alongside Zac Efron, John Cena, and William H. Macy. On television, he starred in Dead Hot (2023) opposite Vivian Oparah and Penelope Wilton, played Nax in Netflix’s Kaos (2024), and took on the role of Brian Irvine in the Peacock thriller series All Her Fault (2025), alongside Sarah Snook, Dakota Fanning, Michael Peña, and Sophia Lillis.
Daniel Monks in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
In August 2024, Monks was announced as part of the cast of HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Game of Thrones prequel series based on George R.R. Martin’s Hedge Knight novellas. The series premiered on January 18, 2026, and follows hedge knight Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall and his squire Egg, roughly ninety years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Who Is Ser Manfred Dondarrion?
Monks plays Ser Manfred Dondarrion, a knight of House Dondarrion of Blackhaven — the same noble house later represented in the original Game of Thrones series by Beric Dondarrion. The character debuted in the show’s first episode, “The Hedge Knight,” tying Monks’ role into a family name that Westeros fans will already recognize from the flagship series.
Daniel Monks’ Key Roles: Comparison Table
| Project | Year | Role | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulse | 2017 | Olly (writer, star, producer) | Film |
| Teenage Dick | 2019–2020 | Richard | Stage (Donmar Warehouse) |
| Ricky Stanicky | 2023 | Supporting role | Film |
| Kaos | 2024 | Nax | TV series (Netflix) |
| A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | 2026 | Ser Manfred Dondarrion | TV series (HBO) |
| All Her Fault | 2025 | Brian Irvine | TV series (Peacock) |
Why This Matters
Daniel Monks’ career matters beyond a single HBO casting credit. For fans of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, knowing who plays Ser Manfred Dondarrion — and that House Dondarrion already has a documented history in Game of Thrones — adds context that deepens the viewing experience. For the disability and LGBTQ+ communities, Monks represents a rare example of a disabled actor moving from advocacy platforms into major studio productions without erasing that identity along the way. For industry watchers, his trajectory — self-authored breakout film, West End recognition, then a flagship HBO franchise — is a useful case study in how actors from outside traditional pipelines build sustainable careers.
Pros and Cons of Daniel Monks’ Approach to Disability Representation
Pros
- Built his own leading role (Pulse) rather than waiting to be cast, controlling how his disability was portrayed
- Consistently speaks publicly about disability and LGBTQ+ inclusion rather than avoiding the topic
- Has proven range across horror, comedy, prestige drama, and now a major fantasy franchise
- Represents disability without his roles being solely “about” disability, as seen in Ser Manfred Dondarrion
Cons
- Public information about his personal life — including an exact birth date — remains limited, which can frustrate fans seeking full biographical detail
- Earlier in his career, opportunities were reportedly harder to access, delaying his return to acting until his mid-20s
- As with many working actors balancing stage and screen, his theatre work (largely UK-based) is less visible to casual fans than his streaming and HBO credits
Expert Recommendations
- If you’re discovering Monks through A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, watch Pulse next — it’s the clearest window into both his acting range and the personal story behind his public advocacy.
- If you’re researching disability representation in media, use Monks’ own interviews as primary sources rather than secondhand summaries; his statements to outlets like NDIS and SBS are more precise than aggregated fan content.
- If you’re tracking Westeros lore, keep an eye on House Dondarrion’s arc across the franchise — Ser Manfred’s appearance links directly to characters Game of Thrones viewers already know.
- For casting directors and producers, Monks’ career is a strong example of how giving disabled actors ownership over material (as with Pulse) can translate into long-term, cross-genre career growth.
Conclusion
Daniel Monks didn’t wait for the industry to write him a role — he wrote one himself, turned a life-altering injury into the foundation of his breakout film, and built a career that now spans the West End, Netflix, Peacock, and HBO’s Westeros. His age may not be public record, but his body of work is, and it tells a clearer story than any birth date could: a disabled, openly gay actor who kept expanding what roles he was offered instead of settling for the ones expected of him.
If A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is your first introduction to Daniel Monks, don’t stop at Ser Manfred Dondarrion. Watch Pulse, look up his West End reviews, or follow where House Dondarrion goes next in the series — there’s a much bigger career here than one HBO episode can show.
Which side of Daniel Monks’ career are you more curious about — his roots in disability-led filmmaking, or where his role in Westeros goes from here?
FAQs
How old is Daniel Monks?
Daniel Monks hasn’t publicly confirmed an exact birth date. Based on his own interview references, he was around 28 in 2018 and 30 in 2019, which places him in his late 30s as of 2026.
What disability does Daniel Monks have?
Daniel Monks has hemiplegia affecting the right side of his body, the result of complications from a biopsy performed at age 11 to remove a benign tumor on his cervical spinal cord. His right arm is fully paralyzed, and his right leg has partial function.
What role does Daniel Monks play in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
Daniel Monks plays Ser Manfred Dondarrion, a knight of House Dondarrion, in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which premiered in January 2026.
What is Daniel Monks known for?
He is best known for writing, producing, and starring in the 2017 film Pulse, his West End performance in Teenage Dick, and television roles in Kaos, All Her Fault, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Is Daniel Monks disabled in real life or just his characters?
Daniel Monks is disabled in real life, living with hemiplegia since age 11. While some of his roles, like in Pulse, directly explore disability, others — including Ser Manfred Dondarrion — do not center on it.
Where is Daniel Monks from?
Daniel Monks was born in Perth, Western Australia, and trained at AFTRS before building a career across Australia, the UK, and the US.
Has Daniel Monks won any awards?
Yes. He won Best Performer in a Play at the 2020 Stage Debut Awards for Teenage Dick and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2018 AACTA Awards for Pulse, among other nominations.
In Short
- Daniel Monks is an Australian actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker best known for Pulse and his role as Ser Manfred Dondarrion in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
- His exact birth date isn’t public, but his own interviews place him in his late 30s as of 2026.
- His disability — right-side hemiplegia — stems from surgical complications at age 11 and has directly shaped both his advocacy and his creative choices.
- His career spans film, television, and West End/Off-Broadway theatre, including roles opposite Emilia Clarke, Zac Efron, and Sarah Snook.
- In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he plays a member of House Dondarrion, a family name Game of Thrones fans will recognize.
