Jennifer Daley is no stranger to resilience whether in her acting career, her activism, or her personal journey.
Now, she takes on a pivotal role in the new TV series The Runarounds, where she plays Danny Mace, a tough-as-nails music label executive with a passion for discovering talent.
In this candid conversation, Daley shares her connection to music, her rebellious roots, her journey back to acting, and how her activism continues to shape her work and perspective.
Congratulations on your new TV show The Runarounds, playing Danny Mace. Can you please tell me a bit about your role and the show itself?
Danny is cool and hard-edged and a big deal in the music scene. She built a successful music label by working hard from a young age and being tough. She’s kind of an asshole to The Runarounds who really want to get signed by her, and it makes for a fun arc to see where that relationship goes and what it will mean for the band’s success. Danny comes in on episode three and becomes a very prominent part of the story.
Danny starts her music label while still in college and that’s fun for me because when I was in college, all my friends were in bands and trying to get labels off the ground. Now a lot of them are super accomplished in music. I’ve always been close with musicians. They’re my favorite people.
Were you musical as a kid or did you have to learn an instrument whilst being in the role?
Music is probably what I’m most passionate and knowledgeable about, which is funny because I’m not really a musician. I’m a singer. I want to be a musician though! My partner is amazing at producing music we’re working on an electronic project together. We have a music studio in our house.
I had a traumatic and oppressively Christian childhood, and sang in Christian choir and musicals growing up and then I discovered punk rock and started singing in a punk band when I was 13. It gave me words for all the feelings I had about church and government and systems designed to oppress vulnerable people. It made it feel good to be a misfit. I think that’s very much like Danny too.
How was it to base Danny character’s appearance off your own style. Did you have to think about it much each morning?
Jonas wanted Danny to be based on me so we mixed in a lot of my own fun punk clothes with the wardrobe department. They would order jewelry from a company I like and we’d play around and see what Amazon would approve.
They also wanted me to keep all my tattoos, which is wild because I have a pretty big ACAB tattoo. That one ended up getting covered but they wanted Danny to be authentic to me. In the flashback scenes, where Danny is younger, the team got playful with my look and dyed my hair purple and did the scenester swoop, which is exactly what my hair looked like in college. So hilarious.
Was there a line or phrase in the show that has stuck with you till today?
Three lines stick with me. First, there’s “Fuck The Runarounds!” for obvious reasons. Then, when Danny auditions Bez (Zende Murdock) on drums for Lost Teen (played by Wavves), he nails it. Danny gets so excited and says, “You fucking did it, kid.” She’s supportive and gets genuinely excited when people bring their best.
But the kicker is the last line of the series:
“I’m about to make you the biggest band in the world.”
What is an interesting skill that you picked up from the roles that you have played so far in your career?
I’ve done a lot of independent films that were all improv and they required stamina, collaboration and fearlessness. I shot an entire feature in Las Vegas guerrilla-style that was all improv. I also spent several years working with the visual artist Paul McCarthy on experimental art films that were super intense and all improv. We’d do surreal, extremely emotional and violent takes that were over an hour long sometimes. I love working in that space between fiction and reality.
On The Runarounds, our director Jonas would encourage improv and say, “Okay, now throw the words out!” He’d give the actors freedom to get real and connect with each other, and to play around and experiment. It created a realness that I think is evident in the show.
What was it like growing up in the acting world with your aunt Conchata Ferrell? Do you think of her as a role model?
My aunt Chatti was the cool, Hollywood artist in my family and as a kid I really wished I was closer to her. I was kind of jealous that Sam got the cool mom. Aunt Chatty was definitely an influence growing up because she was super smart, worldly, funny, bold and confident, and I needed to see more strength like that from women in my life. She was also amazingly talented and I learned a lot from watching her perform.
Did you go to the sets?
Yes, a few times. As a kid, we went to see some of her multi-cam sitcoms, which was so fun because you’re in the live studio audience like theater. Later, as an adult, I ran into her on the Warner Brothers lot while I was working and I had that funny realization of “oh right, I guess I’m an actor too.”
After enduring various challenges throughout your life what inspired you to return to acting?
The Runarounds audition came at a really significant time for me, and the role felt like it was meant to be mine. I had several years of major hardship, from the collapse of all my slated work in 2020, to a two year severe DV relationship that almost took me out. The entertainment industry never recovered in LA and getting work and reps was depressingly hard. I had PTSD and was battling addiction and hadn’t worked consistently in a long time. I decided to change everything in my life in May 2024, and two months into sobriety and therapy, I got the audition for Danny Mace. Three months to the day I was on a flight to Wilmington to shoot.
The whole thing felt spiritual like God was telling me I was on the right path, keep going.
The experience with The Runarounds was so unlike a lot of the dark, heavy work I had done in the past too. Everyone working on it is a loving family. The story behind it is so pure and inspirational. This project is a blessing to me on so many levels.
Were you always fascinated by the environment and what made you want to start a nonprofit? Was it hard it get traction?
My activism started with organizing for racial and social justice, and Bernie Sanders campaigns. The environmental work begins with exposing injustice and holding governments accountable. In the U.S., corruption exists everywhere, even at the local level.
Last year I started a nonprofit, SELA For a Better Tomorrow, to help families in South Gate shut down a contaminated truck yard that was polluting their homes. I didn’t realize the extent of the corruption there until I followed the money, and discovered that these polluting corporations can do whatever they want if they pay off city officials. We successfully shut down that truck yard and I’m working on many other efforts now. I’m working to create a template to expose corruption and hold officials accountable so people everywhere can take action their cities.
It can be tough, though. Sometimes I’d question whether I was focusing on the right thing. While I was fighting to shut down this toxic site, ICE was raiding neighborhoods and kidnapping people, and I’d think, “Am I really helping in the right way?”
Ultimately, it’s fulfilling to show up for people and fight for change locally. The world’s problems feel overwhelming but small steps have a big impact. We have the power to change shit if we want to.
Jennifer Daley’s journey is one of resilience, creativity, and purpose. From punk band frontwoman to experimental film actress, from activist to TV star, she continues to blend her passions for art, authenticity, and advocacy.
With The Runarounds, she steps into a role that mirrors her own rebellious spirit and deep love for music one that promises to leave a lasting mark on both her career and audiences alike.