Newman studied at Yale University, through a special honors program through his high school, before moving to New York City to pursue a music career. Following Newman's move to New York, he struggled as a musician for a short time before meeting well-known photographer, Bruce Weber. Daniel began modeling, appearing worldwide on magazine covers and various other advertising. Most notably, he modeled for Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Tommy Hilfiger. Daniel then landed several guest spots on popular American television shows including, 7th Heaven. To improve his chances in the film and television industry, and to enhance his talents as an actor, he attended The William Esper Studio in New York City. Since then, he has appeared as Greg, a recurring character in the NBC TV series, Surface (2005-2006). He also made guest appearances on One Tree Hill in 2006 and October Road in 2007. During that time he also had several roles in feature films. His most high-profile roles to date were in 2009's theatrical film The Vampire's Assistant, based by the novel Cirque Du Freak, starring with Willem Defoe, Salma Hayek, and John C. Reilly, as well as in the remake of Stephen King's Children of the Corn set to air on the Syfy in 2009.