Dan Stevens was born on October 10, 1982, in Croydon, Surrey, to teachers. He was educated at Tonbridge School and later trained in acting at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He then studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he acted in several student drama productions, including a production of Macbeth at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in 2002.
During his university summer holidays in 2003, he filmed scenes for the Hallmark production of Frankenstein (2004),playing the part of Henry Clerval. The mini-series was first broadcast on American television in 2004.
After graduating from Cambridge, Dan was nominated for an Ian Charleson award for his performance as Orlando in "As You Like It" at the Rose Theatre in Kingston in 2004. The production, directed by Peter Hall, subsequently went on a tour of America.
Dan was reunited with Peter Hall when he played Claudio in a new production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal in Bath in 2005. He then played the parts of Marban and Maitland in a revival of Howard Brenton's controversial play, The Romans in Britain, directed by Samuel West at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2006.
In 2006, he played Nick Guest, the protagonist in The Line of Beauty (2006),a three-part television mini-series adapted by Andrew Davies from the 2004 Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst. The story takes place in the 1980s and explores Nick's relationship with his university friend Toby Fedden.
While The Line of Beauty was being broadcast on BBC television, Dan was appearing as Simon Bliss in the Noël Coward play, Hay Fever, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London from April to August 2006. The cast also included Judi Dench in the role of Judith Bliss.
At the end of the year, Dan played Lord Holmwood in a television dramatization of Dracula (2006),which was broadcast on December 28, 2006. In 2007, he played the part of Michael Faber in Miss Marple: Nemesis (2007),an Agatha Christie adaptation with Geraldine McEwan in the role of Miss Jane Marple.
He also featured in the cast of Maxwell (2007),a television drama about the famous newspaper magnate. Maxwell (2007) was first broadcast on British television on May 4, 2007.
Dan played the part of Edward Ferrars in a television dramatization of Jane Austen's novel, Sense & Sensibility (2008). This was broadcast in three episodes on BBC1 between January 1st and January 13th, 2008. The novel was adapted for television by Andrew Davies, whom Dan had previously worked with on The Line of Beauty (2006).
After Sense & Sensibility (2008),Dan featured in the cast of "The Tennis Court", a BBC Radio 4 Saturday play broadcast on January 19, 2008. He also played Nicky Lancaster in a revival of the Noël Coward play, The Vortex, at the Apollo Theatre in London from February 20th to June 7th, 2008.
Dan played the eponymous hero of "Dickens Confidential", a six-part radio drama series set in the 1830s, which imagines what might have happened if Charles Dickens had continued his career as a journalist. This was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between June 9th and July 14th, 2008.
He played the part of Peregrine in 'Orley Farm', the BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial. This was a three-part adaptation of the novel by Anthony Trollope broadcast between December 28th, 2008, and January 11th, 2009. A month later, he played Duval in the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour drama, 'The Lady of the Camellias'. This was broadcast between February 2nd and February 6th, 2009.
