1. Overview
David Lee Gallagher, born on February 9, 1985, is an American actor and former model who began his career in the entertainment industry at the tender age of two. He is widely recognized for his significant roles, including Mikey Ubriacco in the film Look Who's Talking Now!, Simon Camden in the long-running television series 7th Heaven, and as the voice of Riku in the popular Kingdom Hearts video game franchise. His other notable appearances include Kevin Harper in Angels in the Endzone and Richie Rich in Richie Rich's Christmas Wish. Throughout his career, Gallagher has received acclaim, earning a Teen Choice Award and five Young Artist Award nominations.
2. Early life
David Gallagher's early life was marked by his birth in New York City and a diverse family background, which influenced his later advocacy work. He also pursued higher education alongside his burgeoning acting career.
2.1. Birth and family background
David Lee Gallagher was born on February 9, 1985, in Queens, New York City. His parents are Elena Gallagher (née Lopez) and Darren James Gallagher. After his birth, his parents separated, and his mother later remarried Vincent Casey. Gallagher's ethnic heritage is diverse, with Cuban descent from his mother's side and Irish descent from his father's side. He has four younger siblings: two brothers and two sisters. One of his younger brothers, Killian, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, a personal experience that later motivated David Gallagher to become a prominent supporter and spokesperson for Autism Speaks.
2.2. Education
Gallagher successfully balanced his acting career with his academic pursuits. He graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory School (California) in 2003. Following his high school graduation, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he dedicated his studies to film and television. He completed his university education, graduating in May 2007.
3. Career
David Gallagher's career in the entertainment industry began at a very young age, evolving from modeling and commercials into significant roles across film, television, and voice acting.
3.1. Early career as child actor and model
Gallagher embarked on his career in the entertainment industry at the age of two. He started as a child model for print advertisements in and around New York City, which soon led to opportunities in television commercials as a child actor. As a toddler, he appeared in various commercials for well-known brands such as Tyson Foods, Fisher-Price, Burger King, Panasonic, and Disney World. By the age of eight, he secured a recurring role on the soap opera Loving, marking his early entry into television acting.
3.2. Film
Gallagher made his feature film debut in 1993, portraying Mikey Ubriacco in the comedy film Look Who's Talking Now!, where he starred alongside John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. In 1995, he was part of a Broadway production of A Christmas Carol. He also appeared in several television films, including Bermuda Triangle and It Was Him or Us (1995).
In 1996, he co-starred with John Travolta again in the fantasy film Phenomenon, playing the role of Al Pennamin. During hiatuses from his television series 7th Heaven, Gallagher continued to take on film roles. These included the direct-to-video release Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998), where he played the titular character, and Little Secrets (2001), co-starring Evan Rachel Wood. In 2003, he appeared in Kart Racer as Scott McKenna. In 2005, he starred in The Quiet as Brian and also starred in and co-produced a low-budget adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray (released 2007), taking on the lead role of Dorian Gray. His later film credits include Boogeyman 2 (2007) as Mark Sexton, Super 8 (2011) as Donny, and Trophy Kids (2011) as Reid Davis. In March 2012, it was announced that Gallagher would co-star with Jake Weber in Scared of the Dark, a film directed by Takashi Shimizu, which was released in 2013. He also appeared in the 2014 television film In Your Eyes as Lyle Soames and Born and Missing (2017) as Brian.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Look Who's Talking Now! | Michael "Mikey" Ubriacco | |
| 1995 | It Was Him or Us | Stevie Pomeroy | Television film |
| 1996 | Bermuda Triangle | Sam | Television film |
| Summer of Fear | Zack Marshall | Television film | |
| Phenomenon | Albert "Al" Pennamin | ||
| 1997 | Angels in the Endzone | Kevin Harper | Television film |
| 1998 | Richie Rich's Christmas Wish | Richie Rich | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior | Marty Markham | Television film |
| 2001 | Little Secrets | David | |
| 2003 | Kart Racer | Scott McKenna | |
| 2005 | The Quiet | Brian | |
| 2007 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Dorian Gray | Also co-producer |
| Freakin' Zombies, Man! | Duke | Video short | |
| Boogeyman 2 | Mark Sexton | ||
| 2011 | Super 8 | Donny | |
| Trophy Kids | Reid Davis | ||
| 2013 | Scared of the Dark | Adam | |
| 2014 | In Your Eyes | Lyle Soames | Television film |
| 2017 | Born and Missing | Brian | Television film |
3.3. Television
In 1996, David Gallagher was cast in his most prominent television role as Simon Camden in the family drama 7th Heaven. The series aired for eleven seasons, becoming the longest-running family drama in television history and the highest-rated show on The WB network. Gallagher was a main cast member for seasons one through seven and season ten, and had recurring roles in seasons eight and nine.
During his tenure on 7th Heaven, he also made guest appearances in other television series. In 1997, he appeared in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger titled "Brainchild" as Chad Morgan. In 2003, during the eighth season of 7th Heaven, Gallagher temporarily left the show to pursue full-time college studies. He returned to the series part-time for its ninth season and the tenth season, which was initially believed to be the final season. However, when The CW unexpectedly renewed the show for an eleventh season in late 2006, Gallagher opted not to renew his contract.
After his departure from 7th Heaven, Gallagher continued to take on various television roles. From 2006 to 2009, he had a recurring role as serial killer Buck Winters in three episodes of Numb3rs. In 2007, he appeared as Rick Bates, a murder suspect, in the CSI: Miami episode "Dangerous Son". His 2008 television credits include Paul Shapiro in the Saving Grace episode "A Survivor Lives Here", Ryan Stephenson in Bones ("The He in the She"), and Jeff Ellis in Without a Trace ("Push Comes to Shove"). In 2009, he played Zan in the Smallville episode "Idol". In 2010, he was Kevin Mather in The Deep End episode "An Innocent Man". He also appeared in two episodes of The Vampire Diaries as Ray Sutton in 2011. In 2012, Gallagher guest-starred in several crime dramas, including Matt Moore in Criminal Minds ("The Wheels on the Bus"), Adam Kemp in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("Tressed To Kill"), and Marty Bosch in CSI: NY ("Clean Sweep"). He also appeared in Second Generation Wayans in 2013 and S.W.A.T. in 2020.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-2006 | 7th Heaven | Simon Camden | Main role; seasons 1-7 & 10, recurring; seasons 8 & 9 |
| 1997 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Chad Morgan | Episode: "Brainchild" |
| 2006-2009 | Numb3rs | Buck Winters | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Rick Bates | Episode: "Dangerous Son" |
| 2008 | Saving Grace | Paul Shapiro | Episode: "A Survivor Lives Here" |
| Bones | Ryan Stephenson | Episode: "The He in the She" | |
| Without a Trace | Jeff Ellis | Episode: "Push Comes to Shove" | |
| 2009 | Smallville | Zan | Episode: "Idol" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Kevin Mather | Episode: "An Innocent Man" |
| 2011 | The Vampire Diaries | Ray Sutton | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Criminal Minds | Matt Moore | Episode: "The Wheels on the Bus" |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Adam Kemp | Episode: "Tressed To Kill" | |
| CSI: NY | Marty Bosch | Episode: "Clean Sweep" | |
| 2013 | Second Generation Wayans | Jeremy Silverman | |
| 2020 | S.W.A.T. | Sawyer | Episode: "Bad Cop" |
3.4. Voice Acting
David Gallagher has also established a significant career as a voice actor, particularly in the realm of video games. Since 2002, he has been the consistent voice of Riku, one of the main characters in the critically acclaimed Kingdom Hearts video game series. His extensive work in the franchise includes games such as Kingdom Hearts (2002), Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004), Kingdom Hearts II (2006), Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (2008), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009), Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010), Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (2011), Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (2012), Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (2013), Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (2014), Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage (2017), Kingdom Hearts III (2019), and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (2020).
Beyond video games, Gallagher provided the English voice for Seiji Amasawa in the Disney English dub of the Studio Ghibli animated film Whisper of the Heart (1995). He also lent his voice to the character Oliver Van Rossum in ten episodes of the animated series Rocket Power (1999-2002) and to Ben in two episodes of The Wild Thornberrys (1999-2000).
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Whisper of the Heart | Seiji Amasawa |
| 1999-2002 | Rocket Power | Oliver Van Rossum |
| 1999-2000 | The Wild Thornberrys | Ben |
| 2002 | Kingdom Hearts | Riku |
| 2002 | Rocket Power: Beach Bandits | Oliver Van Rossum |
| 2004 | Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | Riku |
| 2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | Riku |
| 2007 | Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix | Riku |
| 2008 | Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories | Riku |
| 2009 | Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | Riku |
| 2010 | Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep | Riku |
| 2011 | Kingdom Hearts Re:coded | Riku |
| 2012 | Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance | Riku |
| 2013 | Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix | Riku |
| 2014 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix | Riku |
| 2017 | Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage | Riku |
| 2019 | Kingdom Hearts III | Riku |
| 2020 | Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory | Riku |
3.5. Post-7th Heaven career
After his main run on 7th Heaven concluded, David Gallagher continued to pursue diverse acting projects across film and television. In addition to the roles listed in the film and television sections, he expanded his involvement in the industry. In April 2024, it was announced that Gallagher, along with his former 7th Heaven co-stars Beverley Mitchell and Mackenzie Rosman, would co-host a rewatch podcast for the series titled Catching up with the Camdens!, indicating his continued connection to the show that brought him widespread recognition.
4. Social activities and advocacy
David Gallagher is actively involved in social causes, primarily focusing on autism awareness. His advocacy stems from a personal connection: his younger brother, Killian, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. This experience led Gallagher to become a dedicated supporter and spokesperson for Autism Speaks, an organization dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of people with autism and their families.
5. Awards and nominations
Throughout his career, David Gallagher has been recognized for his acting performances with several awards and nominations.
- Awards:**
- 2003: Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actor: Action/Drama
- Nominations:**
- 1994: Young Artist Awards - Best Youth Actor Under 10 in a Motion Picture
- 1997: Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Young Actor
- 1998: Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Leading Young Actor
- 1999: Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a TV Series: Young Ensemble
- 2002: Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Leading Young Actor
- 2004: Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actor: Action/Drama
6. Impact and recognition
David Gallagher's career has left a notable impact on both television and video games. His portrayal of Simon Camden on 7th Heaven contributed to the series becoming the longest-running family drama on television and the highest-rated show on The WB network, solidifying his presence in a widely watched and influential family program. Beyond live-action, his consistent and long-standing role as the voice of Riku in the Kingdom Hearts series has made him an iconic figure in the video game industry, recognized by millions of players worldwide for his contribution to a beloved franchise. His diverse roles, from child actor to voice artist, have earned him recognition within the entertainment industry for his versatility and enduring career.