Daniel Tay played Buddy’s half-brother Michael in the beloved 2003 Christmas film, but has since left acting behind to pursue an impressive new career away from the cameras
Even though Elf came out more than two decades ago, it remains an absolute Christmas classic to this very day.
The movie follows Buddy, a human who was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a baby and raised by Santa’s elves. As he grows up, Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) realises he doesn’t fit in with the other elves so travels to New York City to find his biological father.
Buddy’s dad is Walter Hobbs (played by James Caan), who is a cynical, work-obsessed publisher on Santa’s naughty list. But the elf does manage to form an instant connection with his half-brother Michael.
Child star Daniel Tay played this role brilliantly when he was just 12. However, despite warming the hearts of millions who have watched the film, he decided to embark on a very different career journey when he reached adulthood.
Although the 33-year-old is fondly remembered for his part in Elf, his acting career was brief.
Despite being a hit with viewers, he transitioned away from acting and later graduated from Yale University with a degree in economics.
These days, Dainel is almost unrecognisable from his acting era. More recently, he’s said to have worked as an SAT instructor.
According to the firm’s website, Tay worked as a Teaching Assistant and Peer Tutor within the Computer Science Department during his time at Yale. He also received the Richard U. Light Fellowship for his Mandarin Chinese language studies.
His profile states: “He believes that teaching and learning are expressions of the basic human need for mutual understanding. With this in mind, he works with students to cultivate relationships based in clarity, humour, structure and respect.”
Following his work as an SAT tutor, academic Daniel went on to become a research fellow at Columbia University and is now reading medicine at Cornell University.
Source: Mirror
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