Daniel Anthony Padilla (/pəˈdiːjə/ pə-DEE-yə; born September 16, 1987) is an American internet personality, comedian, filmmaker, and actor.

Outside of Smosh, Padilla has hosted the podcast series I Spent a Day With..., where he interviews fellow Internet celebrities, as well as survivors of crime and natural disasters.

[5] He graduated from Del Campo High School[6] and attended American River College for two years before dropping out due to Smosh's success.

It also functioned effectively as an early form of social media, where he would communicate with his friends while bedridden with Henoch-Schönlein Purpura.

He was later joined by his friend, Ian Hecox, whom he first met in their sixth grade science class, when the two quickly discovered their shared interest in comedy.

Many of their early videos were of them lip syncing, including to the theme songs of Mortal Kombat, Power Rangers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In an interview with Variety regarding the acquisition, Padilla expressed his desire to "return to [their] roots" by owning the company so that they "[could] really take Smosh in any creative direction".