Keith Gordon

Keith Gordon (born February 3, 1961) is an American actor and film director.

As an actor, he is best known for his debut role in Jaws 2, and the starring role in John Carpenter's Christine. As a director in film and television, his most high-profile works include the films The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear, Waking the Dead, and The Singing Detective, as well as episodes of Dexter, Homeland, The Leftovers, Fargo and Better Call Saul.

Early life Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Mark, an actor and stage director, and Barbara Gordon. He grew up in a Jewish family. Gordon was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James Earl Jones in a Broadway production of Of Mice and Men.

Career Gordon's first feature film role was the class clown Doug in Jaws 2 (the 1978 sequel to the blockbuster hit Jaws). In 1979 Gordon appeared in Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical All That Jazz as the teenage version of the film's protagonist Joe Gideon (played by Gordon's Jaws 2 co-star Roy Scheider). Gordon then appeared in two films by Brian De Palma: as a film student in Home Movies (1979) and in the 1980 erotic thriller Dressed to Kill as the son of Angie Dickinson's character. Gordon played Arnie Cunningham, the main character (who buys the titular car Christine), in the 1983 horror film Christine, directed by John Carpenter from the novel by Stephen King. In the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean Gordon played Lloyd Muldaur, the son of a District Attorney who aspires to be Attorney General. He was in the 1986 Mark Romanek film Static, and he wrote the screenplay. In the 1986 comedy movie Back to School, Gordon played Jason Melon, the son of Rodney Dangerfield's character. In most of these films, he played a nerd. He was named number 1 in Cinematicals' Top 7 Most Convincing Nerds. His most recent onscreen film appearance was in 2001, in the movie Delivering Milo.

Gordon left acting for directing, making his debut in 1988 with the movie The Chocolate War, about a student who rebels against the rigid hierarchies in his Catholic school. Although it was a box-office bomb, it remains his most critically-acclaimed film, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. His other films include the 1992 anti-war film A Midnight Clear, about a group of American soldiers in the Ardennes just before and during the Battle of the Bulge, as well as Mother Night (adapted from the novel by Kurt Vonnegut), Waking the Dead, and the film The Singing Detective. For his work on A Midnight Clear, Gordon received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. He also directed some of the mini-series Wild Palms and appeared in the 2006 Iraq War documentary Whose War?. His directing credits for television include Homicide: Life on the Street, Gideon's Crossing, Dexter, The Bridge, House, Better Call Saul, and the second and third seasons of Fargo.

Filmography Film YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter 1985 Static 1988 The Chocolate War 1992 A Midnight Clear 1996 Mother Night 2000 Waking the Dead 2003 The Singing Detective

Acting roles Year Title Role 1978 Jaws 2 Doug Fetterman 1979 Meeting Halfway Unknown role Studs Lonigan Young Paulie Haggerty All That Jazz Young Joe Gideon 1980 Home Movies Dennis Byrd Dressed to Kill Peter Miller 1981 Kent State Jeffrey Miller 1982 Silent Rebellion Chris 1983 Christine Arnie Cunningham 1984 Single Bars, Single Women Lionel 1985 The Legend of Billie Jean Lloyd Muldaur Static Ernie Blick 1986 Back to School Jason Melon Combat Academy Maxwell 'Max' Mendelsson 1994 I Love Trouble Andy 1997 The Player Unknown role 2001 Delivering Milo Mr. Baumgartner

Television Director Year Title Episode(s) 1993 Wild Palms "Hungry Ghosts" "The Floating World" 1994 Homicide: Life on the Street "Extreme Unction" 1995 Fallen Angels "The Black Bargain" 2002 Shadow Realm/Night Visions "Patterns" 2005 House M.D. "Sports Medicine" 2010 Rubicon "In Whom We Trust" 2013 Rectify "Always Be There" (Also executive producer) 2011–2013 The Killing "Beau Soleil" "Donnie or Marie" "Eminent Domain" 2006–2013 Dexter "Truth Be Told" "The Dark Defender" "Morning Comes" "Our Father" "All in the Family" "Do You Take Dexter Morgan" "Dirty Harry" "Lost Boys" "In the Beginning" "Beautiful Day" 2013–2014 The Bridge "The Beetle" "Yankee" 2014 The Strain "It's Not for Everyone" Masters of Sex "Blackbird" 2015 The Returned "Camille" (Also executive producer) 2014–2015 Nurse Jackie "Nancy Wood" "Nice Ladies" 2014–2017 The Leftovers "Two Boats and a Helicopter" "Ten Thirteen" "Don't Be Ridiculous" 2017 Better Call Saul "Off Brand" 2015–2017 Fargo "Did You Do This? No, You Did It!" "Loplop" "Aporia" "Somebody to Love" 2018 Legion "Chapter 19" 2013–2020 Homeland "Good Night" "Trylon and Perisphere" "Super Powers" "Fair Game" "The Man in the Basement" "False Friends" 2020 Dispatches from Elsewhere "The Creator"

Actor Year Title Role Episode(s) 1975 Medical Center Herbie "The Price of a Child" 1982 American Playhouse Chris Panakos "My Palikari" 1989 Miami Vice Prof. Terrence Baines "Leap of Faith" 1990 WIOU George Lewis "Do the Wrong Thing" "Mother Nature's Son" 1993 Brooklyn Bridge Cousin Herbie "The Wild Pitch" 2009 Dexter Kyle Butler #2 "Hello, Dexter Morgan" 2018 On Cinema Himself "The 5th Annual Live On Cinema Oscar Special"

Award nominations Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – A Midnight Clear (1992) Best First Feature – The Chocolate War (1988)

Sitges – Catalan International Film Festival Best Film – The Singing Detective (2003)