David Caves (born 7 August 1978) is a Northern Irish actor who is best known for his role as Jack Hodgson in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama series ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

''. After graduating from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2005, Caves has appeared in a variety of stage productions, including The Beggar’s Opera at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and The Changeling at the

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...

Early life

Caves was educated at

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

, Belfast. His parents and his uncle were all teachers. Caves studied modern languages, including French and German, at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

from 1997 to 2002. He originally planned to become a teacher before training at

LAMDA The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. He worked as a teacher in France as part of his university course but when he returned to the UK he found he had "lost the drive for the academic side of things" and found himself getting heavily involved in plays and musicals at the university. He is quoted as saying:

Career

Caves was offered places at both LAMDA and

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

, and chose the former. His training focused on theatre and, prior to his addition to the ''Silent Witness'' cast, he was known as a stage actor, having impressed as

Petruchio Petruchio ( ; an anglicisation of the Italian name Petruccio, ) is the male protagonist in Shakespeare's '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (c. 1590–1594). Plot In the play, Petruchio comes to the town of Padua in the hopes of marrying a wealthy ...

in the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

's 2012 touring production of ''

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 drunke ...

''. He has also starred in '' Ironclad: Battle for Blood''. Other notable roles in theatre include Deflores in '' The Changeling'', Southwark Playhouse; Macheath in ''

The Beggar’s Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' at

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

Open Theatre and Bosola in ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...

'', Northampton. In 2014, Caves also featured in the television documentary ''The Crime Thriller Club''. Presented by

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer. Walsh's acting roles on television include Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004 ...

, this documentary was a mix of interviews, film clips and a game show about the detective genre in both film and literature. In 2016, Caves portrayed Clint Hill in the film '' Jackie''.

Personal life

Caves was an ambassador for Northern Ireland Hospice. He married Verity Caves (née Cunningham) in 2019.

Filmography

Theatre

References

External links

* Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Living people People educated at Campbell College Male television actors from Northern Ireland Royal Shakespeare Company members List of alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 1979 births Male actors from Belfast {{UK-tv-actor-1970s-stub