Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd is a Canadian film and television actor, comedian, screenwriter, director and musician. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role. Known for the cult film "The Blues Brothers", in which he played the main role and co-wrote the script. He also starred in the films: "The Twilight Zone", "Ghostbusters", "Spies Like Us", "Pearl Harbr", "Pixels", in the series "Psi Factor".
After the appearance on the screen of the movie "The Blues Brothers" Aykroyd, together with his friend - actor John Belushi - created the music group The Blues Brother, performing music in the style of country, folk and soul. The group still exists today, and Dan sometimes takes part in the group's live performances.
Dan plans to participate in the filming of the reboot of the famous film "Ghostbusters". Sony has already shown a promotional video and promised that the film will hit screens in 2020. Together with Aykrod, another "ghost hunter" - Bill Murray is planning to participate in it.
early years
Dan was born in the summer of 1952 in Canada. At birth, the child was found to have two pathologies: partially fused fingers and multi-colored eyes.
In the family, no one imagined that the boy would be carried away by creativity and he would become a famous actor. Dan's father worked in transport in a government office, eventually became deputy minister and dreamed that his son would also follow in his footsteps. But Dan first dreamed of becoming a clergyman, and later, fascinated by music, began to think about a career in show business.
After leaving school, Aykroyd's choice fell on the University of Carlton, where he began to study political science and sociology, but his love of creativity did not allow the young man to study well and devote all his time to science, and he soon left the university.
To realize his creative potential, Dan gets a job at one of the music radio stations, where he starts working as a DJ. Later, he joins one of the comedy theater companies and at the same time begins to think about a career in cinema. From this moment, Aykroyd's creative biography begins.
Creative way
Dan got his first role in the film "Love at First Sight", but it did not bring him success. Thanks to his acquaintance with the famous actor John Belushi, Dan is invited to the comedy show "Saturday Night Live". There he was able to fully demonstrate his talent as a parodist and comedian.
Aykroyd immediately attracted the attention of not only the public, but also colleagues and critics. After a while, the actor was nominated for Emmy awards several times. Through their participation in the show, Dan and John Belushi have become very close friends and have appeared on stage together many times. Thanks to their joint work, not only a humorous duet was born, but also the Blues Brothers musical group. The unchanged attribute of the pair has become: black formal suits, a white shirt, a hat and sunglasses. A year later, the cult musical film "The Blues Brothers" was born, where Dan and John played the main roles. In addition, the duo starred in the film "1941" by the famous director Steven Spielberg, which received several Oscar nominations.
It was a shock for Dan that his friend and partner passed away in 1980. For a long time he could not survive the loss, but gradually began to understand that now he had to realize his creative potential on his own. Three years later, Dan appeared in the comedy film Trading Places, where Eddie Murphy became his film partner.
A year later, Aykroyd is included in the cast of the famous film "Ghostbusters". Together with him, Bill Murray, Rick Moranis and Harold Semis get the main roles. The film brought worldwide fame to the participants in the project, making them movie stars.
After that, in the creative biography of the actor there were many more roles in films, including: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Spies Like Us", "My Stepmother is an Alien", "Casper", "Sergeant Bilko". Aykroyd received an Oscar nomination for his role in Miss Daisy's Chauffeur.
Personal life
Dan became a husband twice.
The first marriage did not bring the actor the desired happiness. Although the family had two sons, the couple eventually broke up.
The second wife was actress Donna Dixon, whom the actor met during the filming. They got married in 1983, after which the wife left her job in the cinema, devoting all her time to raising children and caring for the family. Donna and Dan had three girls and the couple have lived together for 35 years.
