Big Dan

Dan Shields, known more commonly as Big Dan, is an English Writer, Director, Actor & Cinematographer. He is most well-known for his debut short film Moth (2023), in which he was Writer-Director, Cinematographer, lead actor and Editor. He is also responsible for creating the Moth trilogy, composing of the short films Moth, Cocoon and Chrysalis. He is also a frequent collaborator with Sam Kidd, a Writer-Director, with their first collaboration being on film Insomnolence, which they both wrote, as well as Kidd's anime series Lameria. He also worked as the film's Cinematographer, with its production being led by Producer Catarina de Cezanne. Alongside this, he was announced as the CEO of his and Kidd's production company, Open Eye Films, in 2026 when it was created and has held this position within the company since. As well as this, as of July 2026 alongside Kidd he is said to be working on a TV series alongside Kidd set within the universe of Moth.

As a Cinematographer, he was responsible the Cinematography of not only the Moth trilogy, but also of Lameria, a documentary known as "The Hidden costs of Womanhood", another of his films made alongside Kidd, In Dead of Night, and, as mentioned, Insomnolence.

Within his acting career, he has played negatively presented and morally grey characters, primarily within short films. These include the Characters of Levi in The Commandments and the body actor for Death in Remember Death (both 2026), as well as his aforementioned debut short film Moth (2023) and the student character in Dakota Morrill's Writer's Block (2026).