Daniel N. Durant

Daniel N. Durant is an American stage and screen actor, born deaf on December 24, 1989, in Detroit, Michigan. He was raised by his paternal aunt Lori Durant and her wife Mary Engels after being adopted as a toddler. Durant grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where he attended the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, graduating in 2008. He went on to study at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, earning an associate degree in applied computer technology in 2011, before completing a degree at Gallaudet University in 2014.

Durant began his theatrical career in 2012 when he joined Deaf West Theatre for its production of Cyrano de Bergerac. His Broadway debut came in 2015, when he originated the role of Moritz Stiefel in the revival of Spring Awakening. The performance earned him a Theatre World Award in 2016.

His screen work includes a recurring role on the ABC Family series Switched at Birth, which ran from 2013 to 2017. In 2021, Durant appeared in a major supporting capacity in the film CODA, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The ensemble cast received the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the film's world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and the cast was also recognized with the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In September 2022, Durant was announced as a contestant on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Britt Stewart. The pair reached the semifinals and finished in fifth place. Durant subsequently performed the National Anthem in American Sign Language at Super Bowl LVIII. In October 2024, he was cast in a revival of American Idiot, presented by Centre Theatre Group and Deaf West Theater, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Green Day's original album release.

Durant and Britt Stewart began a romantic relationship in November 2022 following their time on Dancing with the Stars. Stewart learned ASL in order to communicate with him. The couple became engaged on Christmas Eve 2023 during a hike in Lake Arrowhead, California, and were married on August 23, 2025, in Santa Margarita, California. Among the guests at the ceremony were Durant's CODA co-stars Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin.