Dan Gordon (born 1961) is an actor, director and playwright from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Early life

Gordon was born in Belfast in 1961, the son of David, a shipyard worker, and Irene. He was educated at Sydenham Infants and Strand Primary (later renamed Victoria Primary) and

Sullivan Upper School Sullivan Upper School is a mixed non- denominational voluntary grammar school in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and has approximately 1,100 enrolled pupils. The school motto is ', Irish for "with the gentle hand foremost". History Sullivan Low ...

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

where he developed his interest in acting. He trained as a teacher at Stranmillis University College where he read English and Drama. Gordon left teaching and worked part-time at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

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 ''Give My Head Peace'' is a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written by Tim McGarry, Damon Quinn and ...

. He starred in the

Marie Jones Sarah Marie Jones (born 1951) is a Belfast-based actress and playwright. Born into a working-class Protestant family, Jones was an actress for several years before turning her hand to writing. Her plays have been staged on Broadway theatre, Br ...

monodrama

A Night in November ''A Night in November'' is a 1994 monodrama written by Marie Jones about one man's struggle with national identity during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Plot summary ''A Night in November'' follows Kenneth Norman McCallister, a Protestant do ...

in the Tricycle theatre in London and again in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. The production played off-Broadway in 1998 and Gordon was nominated for a Broadway Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding solo performance. He has also worked in dramas on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

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. In 2009, he staged a self-written piece about

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

Shipyards in

. 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'', it toured ''unusual'' venues during October 2010. The production played the Edinburgh Festival 2012 and the following year played in New York at th
59E59
Theatre as part of the ''BRITS OFF BROADWAY'' JUN 4 - JUN 30, 2013. The production also played at the King's Head Theatre Islington, Theatre Clwyd Mold and Gordon was nominated in the Best Actor category for an Off-West End 'OFFIE' award. In 2015 Gordon appeared in ''The God of Carnage'' (Prime Cut Production

at Belfast MAC https://themaclive.com - ''The Shadow of a Gunman'' at The

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

Dublin and ''Christmas Eve Can Kill You'' by Marie Jones at The Lyric Theatre Belfast. ''Christmas Eve Can Kill You'' is the most successful play produced by the Lyric Theatre to date breaking all box office records.

Personal life

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Dan 1961 births Living people Male television actors from Northern Ireland Male radio actors from Northern Ireland Male actors from Belfast