Gallagher was born in New York City to Elena Gallagher[2] (née Lopez) and Darren James Gallagher.[citation needed] His parents separated when he was a baby and his mother remarried Vincent Casey.[2][3] Gallagher is of Cuban descent on his mother's side and Irish descent on his father's side.[3] He has four younger siblings.[4] His brother Killian was diagnosed with autism and as a result David is an active supporter and spokesman for the organization Autism Speaks.[3]
Gallagher began acting at the age of 2, first modeling for print advertorials in and around New York City which eventually led to commercial work as an actor. He appeared in many television commercials as a toddler for products such as Tyson Foods and Fisher Price. At age 8 he briefly had a recurring role on the soap opera Loving.
His film debut came in 1993 when he won the role of Mikey Ubriacco in the movie Look Who's Talking Now, playing the son of John Travolta and Kirstie Alley's characters, and the older brother of Tabitha Lupien's character. In 1995 he played in a production of A Christmas Carol on Broadway. He also starred in several TV movies, including Bermuda Triangle.
In 1996, he reunited with John Travolta for the movie Phenomenon. Later that year, he was cast as Simon Camden in the family drama series 7th Heaven. 7th Heaven remained on the air for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in a television history,[6] and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.[7]
He filmed a few movies during hiatuses from filming, including the direct-to-video Richie Rich's Christmas Wish and Little Secrets with Evan Rachel Wood. In 2003, during 7th Heaven's 8th season, Gallagher left the show in order to attend college full-time. However, he returned to the series part-time during season 9 and for what was thought to be the 10th and final season. In late 2006 The CW unexpectedly picked up the show for an 11th season. Gallagher opted not to renew his contract.
His first role after leaving 7th Heaven was a guest stint on Numb3rs, playing serial killer Buck Winters in September 2006, a role which he reprised in January 2009. He also appeared in the season 6 opener of CSI: Miami, playing another suspected killer. He also starred in the horror sequel Boogeyman 2, which went straight to DVD. In July 2008, Gallagher guest-starred on the TNT dramaSaving Grace as Paul Shapiro, a troubled young man who was the suspect in a murder investigation. His next guest appearance was in an October 2008 episode of the Fox crime drama Bones as Ryan Stephenson, the son of a transgender woman. Then in November 2008 he appeared in an episode of the CBS show Without a Trace as a suspect named Jeff Ellis who was thought to be responsible for the disappearance of a local nurse. He portrayed Seiji Amasawa in the English dub version of Studio Ghibli's Whisper of the Heart. Gallagher appeared on the second-to-last episode of the series The Deep End, where he played a man charged with second-degree murder although he is innocent.
Gallagher has notably voiced Riku in the numerous Kingdom Hearts video games and franchise since 2002.
In April 2024, it was announced that Gallagher would co-host along with his former co-stars, Beverley Mitchell and Mackenzie Rosman, a 7th Heaven rewatch podcast named, Catching up with the Camdens![10]
^"David Gallagher (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 14, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
