John Stuart Gaden (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.

Career

John Gaden was born in Sydney where his father owned a successful legal practice, Gadens. He attended

Cranbrook School, Sydney Cranbrook may refer to: People * Earl of Cranbrook, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook (1814–1906), British Conservative politician ** John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbro ...

, where he performed in various school plays. After school he studied arts and law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. After appearing with the Sydney University Dramatic Society, he decided to pursue a theatrical career in lieu of a legal one. His professional career started in the early 1960s. In 1970 he appeared in a production of ''

Hadrian the Seventh ''Hadrian the Seventh: A Romance'' (sometimes called ''Hadrian VII'') is a 1904 novel by the English novelist Frederick Rolfe, who wrote under the pseudonym "Baron Corvo". Rolfe's best-known work, this novel of extreme wish-fulfilment developed o ...

'' in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, directed by Sir

Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at h ...

, and with fellow actors Arthur Dignam and Judy Nunn. Guthrie was impressed enough with Gaden to recommend him to Robin Lovejoy, who cast him in a production of ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'', which resulted in a positive review from ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

s theatre critic Harry Kippax, which in turn led to a three-year contract with the

Old Tote Theatre Company The Old Tote Theatre Company (1963–1978) was a New South Wales theatre company that began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). It was the predecessor to the Sydney Theatre Company ...

(the precursor of the Sydney Theatre Company). He has also recorded audiobooks of British children's series

Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...

and Australian children's series Magic Mountain. For three years he was associate director of the Sydney Theatre Company with

Richard Wherrett Richard Bruce Wherrett AM (10 December 19407 December 2001) 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. Early life, education and family Ri ...

, during which time he directed and co-directed the notable production of '' The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby''. He performed many roles with Sydney's

Nimrod Theatre Company The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "g ...

in the 1970s. From 1986 to 1989 he was artistic director of the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. I ...

, based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. In Adelaide he co-directed various productions with

Gale Edwards Gale Edwards (born 14 November 1954) is an Australian theatre director, who has worked extensively throughout Australia and internationally. She has also directed for television and film. Professional career Edwards began her career at Adelaid ...

. He has also appeared with the

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

and the

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

Awards

John Gaden was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

(AM) in the 1986

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Honours for his services to the performing arts. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) at the 2018 Australia Day Honours. He was won two Helpmann Awards for Best Male Actor in a Play: in 2001, for

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...

'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 The Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play is a theatre award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2003. In the following list, winners are listed first and marked in gold, ...

for

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

's ''

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

''.

Personal

He is divorced, and has a son and three grandchildren. He lives alone.

Notable stage appearances

* ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

'' (

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

; 1967, 1988, 2009; in 1988, his Fool was

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

) * ''

Big Toys ''Big Toys'' is a 1977 Australian play by Patrick White. It was his first play in 14 years. Stage productions The original production was by the Old Tote Theatre Company in Sydney. The cast was Max Cullen, Arthur Dignam and Kate Fitzpatrick a ...

'' ( Patrick White; 1977, Old Tote) * ''Signal Driver'' (Patrick White; 1985) * ''

Cloudstreet ''Cloudstreet'' is a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton published in 1991. It chronicles the lives of two working-class families, the Pickles and the Lambs, who come to live together in a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Aust ...

'' (

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Fr ...

; 1998) * '' The Unexpected Man'' (2000) * ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

'' (

; 2002; Michael Blakemore's production) * Tiresias in ''The Lost Echo'' (2006;

Barrie Kosky Barrie KoskyBarrie Kosky's name is sometimes misspelled as Barry Kosky, Barrie Koski, Barrie Koskie. (born 18 February 1967) is an Australian theatre and opera director.Kosky also plays the piano, as he did in his production of Monteverdi's '' P ...

's production) * '' No Man's Land'' ( Harold Pinter; 2011, for

and STC) * ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Ham ...

'' (

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

; 2013) * '' The War of the Roses'' (STC, with Cate Blanchett) * ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and p ...

'' (

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

) * ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often ...

'' ( Henrik Ibsen) * ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' ( Anton Chekhov) * ''Kold Komfort Kaffee'' (with

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Life Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia. She b ...

) * ''

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

'' and ''Henry IV'' (Shakespeare; for

Bell Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. It is based in Sydney. The Bell Shakespeare vision is to create theatre that allows audiences of all wa ...

) Source= AusStage

Selected film and television appearances

* ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' (1973) * '' Conferenceville'' (1984) * ''

Muriel's Wedding ''Muriel's Wedding'' is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P.J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambi ...

'' (1994) * '' Halifax f.p.'' (1994) * '' Children of the Revolution'' (1996) * ''

Thank God He Met Lizzie ''Thank God He Met Lizzie'' is a 1997 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Cherie Nowlan and starring Frances O'Connor, Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett. It was Nowlan's directorial debut. In the United States, the film was released as ...

'' (1997) * '' A Little Bit of Soul'' (1998) * ''Right Here Right Now'' (2004) * '' Rake'' (2010) * '' The Eye of the Storm'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaden, John 1941 births Living people Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Officers of the Order of Australia Male actors from Sydney Helpmann Award winners People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney