Keith Gordon

Keith Gordon is an American actor and film director.
As an actor, he is most well-known for his debut role in Jaws 2, as well as 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, 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 an atheist 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

As an actor, Gordon's first feature film role was that of class clown Doug in Jaws 2. In 1979 Gordon appeared in Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical All That Jazz as the teenage version of the film's protagonist Joe Gideon. Gordon then appeared in two films by Brian De Palma: as a film student in Home Movies and in the 1980 erotic thriller Dressed to Kill as the son of Angie Dickinson's character. Gordon played Arnie Cunningham, the main character, 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 Film [Independent Spirit Award|Independent Spirit Award] nomination for Independent [Spirit Award for Best First Feature|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, 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. D

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role
1978	Jaws 2	Doug Fetterman
1979	Meeting Halfway	Unknown role
1979	Studs Lonigan	Young Paulie Haggerty
1979	All That Jazz	Young Joe Gideon
1980	Home Movies	Dennis Byrd
1980	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
1985	Static	Ernie Blick
1986	Back to School	Jason Melon
1986	Combat Academy	Maxwell 'Max' Mendelsson
1994	I Love Trouble	Andy
1997	The Player	Unknown role
2001	Delivering Milo	Mr. Baumgartner

Award nominations

;Independent Spirit Awards
;Sitges – Catalan International Film Festival