John Gaden | |
|---|---|
 Gaden at the 2012 AACTA Awards | |
| Born | 13 November 1941 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1960–present |
John Stuart Gaden AO (born 13 November 1941) is an Australian actor and director known particularly for his stage career, although he has also made some film and television appearances.
John Gaden was born in Sydney where his father owned a successful legal practice, Gadens. He attended Cranbrook School, Sydney, where he performed in various school plays. After school he studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. After appearing with the Sydney University Dramatic Society, he decided to pursue a theatrical career in lieu of a legal one. [1]
His professional career started in the early 1960s. [1] In 1970 he appeared in a production of Hadrian the Seventh in Perth, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie, and with fellow actors Arthur Dignam and Judy Nunn. [1] [2] Guthrie was impressed enough with Gaden to recommend him to Robin Lovejoy, who cast him in a production of The Crucible , which resulted in a positive review from The Sydney Morning Herald's theatre critic Harry Kippax, which in turn led to a three-year contract with the Old Tote Theatre Company (the precursor of the Sydney Theatre Company). [1] He has also recorded audiobooks of British children's series Fireman Sam and Australian children's series Magic Mountain .
He performed many roles with Sydney's Nimrod Theatre Company in the 1970s. For three years he was associate director of the Sydney Theatre Company with Richard Wherrett, during which time he directed and co-directed the notable production of The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby . [1]
From 1986 to 1989 Gaden was artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia based in Adelaide. [1] [3] In Adelaide he co-directed various productions with Gale Edwards. He has also appeared with the Belvoir St Theatre and the Queensland Theatre Company.
Gaden had a strong connection with novelist and playwright Patrick White. He performed in a 1980 ABC TV adaptation of White's play Big Toys , a 1985 production of his play Signal Driver: A Morality Play for the Times and the film of White's novel The Eye of the Storm . [4] As Artistic Director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, Gaden commissioned White's final play, Shepherd on the Rocks (1987) and played the lead role in the premiere production, alongside Geoffrey Rush and Kerry Walker. [5]
Gaden would appear in ABC legal comedy Fisk, Gaden was announced to return for the third series [6]
John Gaden was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1986 Australia Day Honours for his services to the performing arts. [7] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) at the 2018 Australia Day Honours. [8]
He was won two Helpmann Awards for Best Male Actor in a Play: in 2001, for Yasmina Reza's The Unexpected Man , and in 2007, for The Lost Echo . In 2005 he won a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for Michael Frayn's Democracy .
He is divorced, and has a son and three grandchildren. He lives alone. [1]
[21] Source: AusStage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race | Dr Holliday | Featured film |
| 2016 | The Death and Life of Otto Bloom | Charles Reiner | Mockumentary film |
| 2011 | The Eye of the Storm [23] | Arnold Wyburd | Feature film |
| 2004 | Right Here Right Now | Judge Doyle | |
| 2003 | Excursion | Narrator | Short film |
| 2001 | WillFull | Bill | Feature film |
| 1998 | A Little Bit of Soul | Dr. Sommerville | Feature film |
| 1997 | Thank God He Met Lizzie | Dr O'Hara | Feature film |
| 1996 | Children of the Revolution | Professor C.W. Wilke | Feature film |
| 1995 | Mushrooms | Reverend Braningan | |
| 1995 | Dad and Dave: On Our Selection | Reverend McFarlane | Feature film |
| 1994 | Muriel's Wedding | Doctor | Feature film |
| 1984 | Conferenceville | Ian Selfridge | TV movie |
| 1980 | Big Toys | Ritchie | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Tichborne Affair | TV movie | |
| 1977 | The FJ Holden | Waiter | Feature film |
| 1976 | Mad Dog Morgan | Extra | Feature film |
| 1976 | Caddie | Solicitor | Feature film |
| 1976 | God Knows Why, But It Works | Defence Counsel | |
| 1975 | I'm Here, Darlings! | TV movie | |
| 1973 | The Affray at Fogg's Humpy | Frank Gardiner | Short film |
| 1973 | The Taming of the Shrew | TV movie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Bump | Kenny | 2 episodes |
| 2021–present | Fisk | Anthony Fisk | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | Significant Others | Pastor | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Operation Buffalo | Swanny | 3 episodes |
| 2010–18 | Rake [24] | Governor General | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | A Place to Call Home | Dr. Stewart | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Underbelly | Merv Grogan | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Halifax f.p. | Toser's Solicitor | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Mother and Son | Funeral Assistant | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Players in the Gallery | TV miniseries | |
| 1979 | A Place in the World | Warwick Lacey | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1977 | Beyond Reasonable Doubt | Defence | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Luke's Kingdom | D'arcy | 1 episode |
| 1975 | The Explorers | Performer | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Homicide | George McKenna | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Matlock Police | Walter Anderson | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | S.T. Gill | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Flash Nick from Jindavick | Sergeant Carson | 1 episode |
| 1968 | Contrabandits | Crowe | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Fireman Sam | Narrator | |
| Magic Mountain | Narrator |
John Gaden on IMDb
Genevieve Lemon is an Australian actress and singer who has appeared in a number of Australian television series and international film, including a frequent collaboration with Jane Campion for Academy Award-winning The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021), which earned her a Satellite Award as cast member and a Critic's Choice Awards nomination.
Tara Morice is an Australian actress, singer and dancer.
James David Sharman is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known internationally as the director of the 1973 theatrical hit The Rocky Horror Show, its film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and the film's follow-up, Shock Treatment (1981).
Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor and writer. He is known for his lead role in 2024 television series Plum.
Pamela Rabe is a Canadian–Australian actress and theatre director. A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver, Rabe is best known for her appearances in the Australian films Sirens, Cosi and Paradise Road, and for starring as Joan Ferguson in the television drama series Wentworth.
Kate Champion is an Australian choreographer and artistic director.
Richard Bruce Wherrett AM was an Australian stage director, whose career spanned 40 years. He is known for being the founding director of the Sydney Theatre Company in 1979.
Ewen Leslie is an Australian actor.
Russell Dykstra is an Australian actor of screen, stage and TV.
Marta Dusseldorp is an Australian stage, film and theatre actress. Her television credits include BlackJack, Crownies, Jack Irish and A Place to Call Home.
Kip Williams is an Australian theatre and opera director. Williams is the current Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. His appointment at age 30 made him the youngest artistic director in the company's history.
Mitchell Patrick Butel is an Australian actor, singer, director and writer. He is best known for his work in theatre, including musical and opera productions. He was the artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia from 2019 to 2024 and will take up the position of artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company in November 2024.
John Sheedy is an Australian theatre director.
Miranda Tapsell is a Larrakia Aboriginal Australian actress of both stage and screen, best known for her role as Cynthia in the Wayne Blair film The Sapphires and her 2015 performance as Martha Tennant in the Nine Network drama series Love Child. In 2016, she portrayed Fatima in the Stan series Wolf Creek.
Tom Wright is an Australian theatre writer, mostly known for his adaptations and translations.
Bert La Bonté is an Australian stage, film and television actor. With a career that has spanned over 20 years, La Bonté's most known roles include Five Bedrooms, The Newsreader and many more.
Zahra Newman is an Australian actress.
Eamon Flack is an Australian theatre director. He is the Artistic Director of Belvoir, a theatre company in Sydney's Surry Hills.
Annie Byron is an AFI Award-winning Australian film, stage, and television actress best known for Wolf Creek 2, Fran, Muriel's Wedding, and Doing Time for Patsy Cline.
Anne-Louise Sarks is an Australian theatre director, writer and actor. She has been the Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company since October 2021. Her partner is journalist Sean Kelly.