Gavin O'Connor (born December 24, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, playwright, and actor. He is best known for directing the films ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

'' (2004), ''

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

'' (2011), '' The Accountant'' (2016), and '' The Way Back'' (2020).

Early life

O'Connor was raised in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

Career

In 1992 he wrote and produced

Ted Demme Edward Kern Demme ( ; October 26, 1963 – January 13, 2002) was an American director, producer, and actor. Early life Demme was born in New York City, the son of Gail (née Kern) and Frederick Rogers Demme. He grew up in Rockville Centre, New Y ...

's directorial debut, the short film '' The Bet''. Three years later, he made his own feature film co–writing and directing debut with ''Comfortably Numb'', about the moral dilemmas facing a

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

preppie-turned-New York City

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

; the film was screened at both the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and the

Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September. The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss'' ...

. O'Connor then turned to the stage, producing, writing, and starring in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play ''Rumblings of a Romance Renaissance'' in 1997. At the same time, O'Connor began work on a screenplay based on then-wife Angela Shelton's memories of her childhood spent on the road with her serial-marrying mother. Impressed by

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning British actress

Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961) is an English actress. She began her career training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before earning acclaim for playing diverse roles on stage and screen in both period pieces and modern dramas. She has r ...

's appearance on

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

's talk show in 1997, he was determined to cast her in what had become ''

Tumbleweeds A tumbleweed is a kind of plant habit or structure. Tumbleweed, tumble-weed or tumble weed may also refer to: Films * Tumbleweeds (1925 film), ''Tumbleweeds'' (1925 film), William S. Hart film * Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935 film), ''Tumbling Tumble ...

'' (in which he co-starred); he and Shelton were forced to finance the film themselves after being unable to find backers. The movie won the Filmmakers Trophy at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

; McTeer's performance earned her a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

as Best Actress and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

nominations in the same category; and

Kimberly J. Brown Kimberly Jean Brown (born November 16, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as teen witch List of Halloweentown characters, Marnie Cromwell in the Halloweentown (film series), ''Halloweentown'' film series (1998� ...

, cast as her pre-teen daughter, won an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

for Best Debut Performance. In 2004, after serving as executive producer of several smaller, independent projects, O'Connor directed the film ''

'', based on the true story about the American ice hockey team's victory over the Soviet Union at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

. He also produced the Mark Kerr

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

documentary film, '' The Smashing Machine''. O'Connor filmed the

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

film ''

'', for which he wrote the screenplay and directed. The film received a 2011 release, through

Lions Gate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment industry, entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica ...

. In 2013, O'Connor was working on adapting the novel ''

The Hustler ''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports drama film, directed by Robert Rossen. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats". The film, which was based on the 195 ...

'' into a stage play. In April 2013, he signed on to direct '' Jane Got a Gun''. He executive produced and directed the pilot episode of the FX series ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...

''. He directed and produced the pilot episode of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Seven Seconds''. In June 2014, O'Connor was set to direct his upcoming action-adventure film, ''Massacre in the Himalayas'', which Gianni Nunnari's Hollywood Gang Productions will produce about the murder of ten climbers and the local Pakistani cook who are intent on conquering the K2 summit. He was also set to direct the WWII drama ''Atlantic Wall'', starring

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...

. On September 6, 2017, O'Connor landed the roles of director and writer of '' The Suicide Squad''. By October, O'Connor had exited the project due to his story treatment reportedly being identical to ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'', as well as his commitments to ''The Way Back''.

Personal life

O'Connor married actress

Brooke Burns Brooke Elizabeth Burns (born March 16, 1978) is an American fashion model, game show host, actress, and television personality. Burns began her television career in 1995, portraying the supporting character Peg in the Spanish- American teen ...

on June 22, 2013. He was previously married to Angela Shelton.

Filmography

Film

Producer only Acting credits

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Gavin 1963 births American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Film producers from New York (state) American male screenwriters American theatre directors Living people People from Long Island University of Pennsylvania alumni Film directors from New York (state) People from Huntington, New York American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Sundance Film Festival award winners