If you were a fan of The Nanny in the 90s (and who wasn’t?), chances are you’ve wondered what Daniel Davis, aka Niles the hilariously posh and snarky butler, has been up to since the show ended in 1999. Spoiler alert: He’s not quite as busy with TV as he was during The Nanny, but he’s certainly just as delightful.

Since The Nanny wrapped, the 71-year-old actor — who also played Professor James Moriarty on Star Trek — hasn’t landed any roles as well-known as Niles, but he’s definitely kept busy. In addition to having a small recurring role on The Practice in 2000, he’s also had guest starring roles on Ugly Betty, Fraiser, Gotham, and most recently, The Blacklist. Adding a dose of serious prestige to his resumé, the Arkansas native (with a wildly convincing British accent) has also been a regular on the on-and off-Broadway theater scene. He played Oscar Wilde in The Invention of Love in 2001, Georges in La Cage aux Folles in 2004, George Bernard Shaw in The Frogs in 2004. And in 2000, he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Featured Role for his performance as Maurice Montesor in Wrong Mountain. Niles definitely would approve.

niles the butler

Back in 2016, Daniel made a sort of bizarre — and extremely candid —
admission about something that always confused him about The Nanny. Speaking to News.com.au., the actor said that he could never understand how or why Niles and C.C. Babcock, played by Lauren Lane, wound up together. And we can’t say we disagree: The two were arch rivals throughout the entire series.

“That’s the only part that I never really bought, to tell you the truth,” he admitted, adding, “C.C. and I had been so oil and water — I didn’t buy that we would end up married. But I had to play it, because that’s what they wrote.” He also revealed that part of him assumed the pairing was because something more was to come — like a spin-off. But when that never happened, he was just left baffled. “I guess they were just wanting to tie up the loose ends,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl0LIbU96C0

Last year, the Broadway actor did for a “4 Minutes of Joy” interview with Nerdzilla to talk about everything from the dumbest purchase he’s ever made to his all-time favorite comeback of Niles’, and let’s just say this: We need more Daniel Davis in our lives. Hey, if Will and Grace and Full House can make bona fide comebacks, why not The Nanny? Or, at the very least, a Niles and C.C. spin-off?