Daniel Zovatto Blanco was born in San José, Costa Rica, on July 12, 1991; he is the son of television personality Sylvia Blanco and named after his father, Daniel Zovatto Garetto, an Argentinian politician.
Zovatto's desire to become an actor began at an early age when he joined his mother on set of her talk shows in Costa Rica, and he attributes his fascination with the horror genre to his father, who scared him as a child while he was watching Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Subsequently, he adopted the nickname 'Danny', after the child protagonist of the horror film.[citation needed]
After moving to New York City, he pursued theater and was cast in two short films, 55 Days and The Return. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he made his feature film debut in the 2013 horror movie Beneath as Johnny. The independent film, released on May 3, 2013, was directed by Larry Fessenden and marked Zovatto's first main role in a film. Later that year, he starred as Neils Hirsch in the horror drama film Innocence, opposite Linus Roache and Stephanie March.
In 2014, Zovatto made his television debut in season one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "Seeds". From May to October 2014, Zovatto had a 3-episode arc in ABC's soap opera drama series Revenge. His character, Gideon LeMarchal, dates Charlotte Grayson (Christa B. Allen) in the third and fourth seasons of the series. His next film project was the romantic comedy Laggies, in the role of Junior, alongside actors including Chloë Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, and Mark Webber. This was followed with his breakthrough role in the 2014 supernatural horror film It Follows as Greg Hannigan. The film received critical acclaim.