Dan Gordon (actor)

Dan Gordon
Born
Daniel Gordon

1961[1]
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • playwright
Years active1981–present
Spouse
  • Cathy Gordon
    ​
    (m. 1985)​
Children3 daughters

Dan Gordon (born 1961) is an actor, director and playwright from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Early life

Gordon was born in Belfast in 1961, the son of David, a shipyard worker, and Irene.[2] He was educated at Sydenham Infants and Strand Primary (later renamed Victoria Primary) and Sullivan Upper School in Holywood where he developed his interest in acting.[3] He trained as a teacher at Stranmillis University College where he read English and Drama.[4]

Gordon left teaching and worked part-time at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.[5]

Career

He is best known in Northern Ireland for his portrayal of Red Hand Luke in the BBC Northern Ireland sitcom Give My Head Peace. He starred in the Marie Jones monodrama A Night in November at the Tricycle theatre in London and again in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.[6] The production played Off-Broadway in 1998 and Gordon was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.[7]

He has also worked in dramas on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and is a columnist for the Belfast newspaper Sunday Life. In 2004 he won BBC Northern Ireland Drama's first ever radio drama competition.[8]

In 2009, he staged a self-written piece about the Harland and Wolff Shipyards in Belfast. The play, provisionally titled All the Queen's Men, received its premier in an East Belfast church, known locally as the Shipyard Church. Now known as The Boat Factory,[9] it toured "unusual" venues during October 2010.[10] The production played at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012 and the following year played in New York at the 59E59 Theatre as part of the 2013 Brits Off Broadway season.[11] The production also played at the King's Head Theatre, Islington,[12] and at Theatre Clwyd, Mold,[13] with Gordon nominated in the Best Actor category for an Off West End Theatre Award.

In 2015 Gordon appeared in God of Carnage at Belfast MAC,[14] The Shadow of a Gunman at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and Christmas Eve Can Kill You by Marie Jones at the Lyric Theatre Belfast. Christmas Eve Can Kill You was the most successful play produced by the Lyric Theatre to date, breaking all box office records.[15]

In 2024, Gordon played Rab in the second series of BBC One police drama Blue Lights.[16]

Personal life

He married his wife, Cathy, in November 1984. The couple have three daughters: Sarah, Hannah and Martha.

References

  1. ^ "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  2. ^ "Dan Gordon: 'While most men were building ships, others were at work with their pens'". Belfasttelegraph.
  3. ^ "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  4. ^ "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  5. ^ "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  6. ^ "Postcolonial Text Vol 3 No 3 (2007)" (PDF). p. 6 (footnote). Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  7. ^ "AWARDS FOR 1998-1999". outercritics.org. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. ^ BBC Northern Ireland (2004). "Writing competition". BBC. Archived from the original on March 30, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  9. ^ "The Boat Factory". Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "The Boat Factory – launched in East Belfast last night". Slugger O'Toole Ltd. October 6, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  11. ^ "Boat Factory at 59E59 Theaters". 59E59 Theaters. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Boat Factory, by Dan Gordon at King's Head Theatre". www.offwestend.com. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Clwyd Theatr Cymru offers a taste of the Celtic festival 2013 - gwanwyn.org.uk". gwanwyn.org.uk. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "God of Carnage". Belfast MAC.
  15. ^ Christmas Eve Can Kill You - Lyric Theatre Belfast, November 3, 2015, retrieved January 15, 2016
  16. ^ Hogan, Michael (May 20, 2024). "Blue Lights recap: series two finale – terrific, beautiful and a wee bit soapy". The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2024.