# Lawrence Gordon (character)

Dr. Lawrence Gordon is a fictional character in the Saw franchise. He was created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell and is portrayed by British actor Cary Elwes. He first appears in Saw (2004) as an oncologist who is abducted by Jigsaw and placed in a trap alongside photographer Adam Stanheight, where Dr. Gordon is given a certain time limit to kill Adam to save both himself and his family from death.
After a legal battle with production company Evolution Entertainment over insufficient payment Elwes was promised of the profits made from Saw in 2005, Elwes would eventually return to the series in the finale Saw 3D (2010), where it would be shown that Dr. Gordon had in fact survived the events of the first Saw film and had been recruited as a Jigsaw apprentice, assisting him in setting up traps throughout the capacity of Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV and Saw V.
Outside of the films, the character has also either appeared or been referenced in various other Saw media, including video games and comics.

## Fictional character biography
### Saw

Dr. Gordon makes his first appearance in the original Saw film released in 2004, where he is introduced as an oncologist who is living comfortably with his wife, Alison (Monica Potter), and his daughter, Diana (Makenzie Vega). However, he and Alison often argued due to his cold and uncaring attitude, which he would also display at work with his patients. He was also secretly having an affair with one of his medical students, Carla (Alexandra Bokyun Chun), although they kept their relationship as private as possible. His cold attitude and affair would make him a target of John Kramer (Tobin Bell), better known as the Jigsaw Killer.
   "Dr. Gordon, this is your wake-up call. Every day of your working life you have given people the news that they're going to die soon. Now, you will be the cause of death. Your aim in this game is to kill Adam. You have until six on the clock to do it. There's a man in the room with you. When there's that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do -- is shoot yourself. There are ways to win this hidden all around you. Just remember, X marks the spot for the treasure. If you do not kill Adam by six, then Alison and Diana will die, Dr. Gordon... and I'll leave you in this room to rot. Let the game begin. (whispers) Follow your heart."
— Dr. Gordon's tape left to him by Jigsaw in Saw
Dr. Gordon is first seen at the beginning of Saw awakening in a large, grimy, industrial bathroom. Across the room is photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell); the two men were both had their ankles shackled to a pipe where between them was an apparent suicide victim holding a revolver in one hand, and a microcassette tape recorder in the other. They find microcassette tapes contained in envelopes in their pockets and they would listen to their tapes. Adam's tape simply instructs him to survive, however, Dr. Gordon's tape orders him to kill Adam by six o'clock or Alison and Diana Gordon will be killed and he would be left to die in the bathroom. His tape ended with a clue that whispered: "Follow your heart". This leads Dr. Gordon to finding a heart drawn on a toilet next to Adam, with the young photographer uncovering two hacksaws meant for the both of them. They are both unable to saw through their chains, with Adam's saw breaking. Dr. Gordon then realises that the saws are not meant for their chains, but are instead meant for their feet and that they have been abducted by the Jigsaw Killer, whom Dr. Gordon knows about as he was previously suspected of being the killer. A flashback shows that a few months prior, Dr. Gordon was interrogated by detectives David Tapp (Danny Glover) and Steven Sing (Ken Leung) after his penlight was found at a crime scene involving Jigsaw. He was cleared by his alibi, but watched a testimony from the only known survivor of Jigsaw's games, Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) and was then released.
This made Adam very suspicious of Dr. Gordon. Nonetheless, the two men found a camera system hidden behind a one-way mirror. Later, Dr. Gordon started talking to Adam about his last conversation with his daughter, Diana. He asks if Adam wanted to see a photo of her, which he obliges to. Dr. Gordon said that his favourite photo of her was at the back of his wallet, but Adam says that this photo is missing. He searches through his wallet but cannot find it.
When Adam's uncooperative behaviour caused him and Dr. Gordon to argue, Adam insisted that he turn off the bathroom lights. Upon doing so, they discover a lit-up "X" on the wall and Dr. Gordon uses his hacksaw to break the part of the wall, revealing a small box inside the hollow space. He opens the box which contained a cellphone, two cigarettes and a lighter. Also in this box was a note meant for Dr. Gordon which said: "The cigarettes are harmless, I promise. Smoking is only poisonous when it ends in bloodshed. Think about this - you don't need a gun to kill Adam". Dr. Gordon tries to use the cellphone to call the police, which is unsuccessful as it can only receive calls and not make them. This causes Dr. Gordon to remember his abduction: he walked to his car where he was distracted by what appeared to be a camera flash and was subsequently attacked by someone in a pig mask. Dr. Gordon then becomes skeptical about how Adam knew to turn off the lights, which leads Adam to showing him a photo that he hid from Dr. Gordon at the back of his wallet, which had Alison and Diana gagged up in it, with the back of the photo containing a clue about the hidden "X" on the wall, making Dr. Gordon startled about his wife and daughter's safety. Afterwards, Dr. Gordon turns off the lights and hatches an escape plan to Adam, which would have Dr. Gordon passing Adam the cigarette, Adam smoking it and faking his death. However, this plan would foil after Adam received an electric shock through his chains, making Dr. Gordon get angry and blame Adam for the failure of their plan. This also causes Adam to remember his abduction as well.
After Adam explains his abduction, the cellphone rang. Dr. Gordon answers the phone only to hear Alison's voice, who warns him not to believe Adam's lies and that he knew everything about Dr. Gordon before today. Dr. Gordon questions Adam about who he really was, with Adam admitting that he was being paid to secretly follow and take photos of Dr. Gordon and also showed him photos he took of Dr. Gordon that were in the bag that Adam found the hacksaws in but concealed from the doctor. Adam also reveals that he knew about Dr. Gordon's affair with Carla and followed him to a hotel where he visited Carla the night he was abducted, with Dr. Gordon figuring out this was the reason he was being tested. He then asks Adam about the identity of the person who hired him, believing this person was responsible for their abduction. When Adam describes the person as a "tall black guy with a scar on his neck", Dr. Gordon deduces the person to be Detective Tapp, who had become obssesed with the doctor and convinced himself Dr. Gordon was Jigsaw after Detective Sing died in one of Jigsaw's traps a few months before. Adam then accuses Dr. Gordon of cheating on his wife, causing them to have another agument, with Dr. Gordon proclaiming his innocence.
After the two lapsed into silence, Adam notices that he did not take one of the pictures, which had a man staring outside an apartment window. Dr. Gordon recognises him as Zep Hindle (Michael Emerson), an orderly at the same hospital Dr. Gordon was working at, leading them to believe he is the one holding Alison and Diana hostage and is in fact the Jigsaw Killer. They then also notice that six o'clock has now arrived and Adam was still alive, meaning the game was now over and Dr. Gordon had failed. Suddenly, the cellphone rang again and to their surprise, it was Alison calling after freeing herself from Zep. Alison asks Dr. Gordon where he is, replying that he doesn't know and that he is being held captive somewhere. Seconds later, gunshots and the frightened screams of his daughter, Diana, were heard in the phone call. This makes Dr. Gordon cry and panic and then also receives an electric shock from his chain, causing him to pass out. He regains consciousness after a few seconds, but the cellphone is now out of reach, causing Dr. Gordon to scream and panic even more. Adam attempts to calm him down, but he refuses to listen and in his last resort to save his family, begins to amputate his own foot with his hacksaw, with Adam watching and screaming in terror. After finally freeing himself, Dr. Gordon crawls to the corpse and takes its revolver and, despite Adam begging the doctor not to shoot him, shoots Adam, causing to collapse immediately. Dr. Gordon then broke down in tears, screaming for Zep to let him see his family. Moments later, Zep unlocks the bathroom door and enters, with Dr. Gordon threatening Zep and trying to shoot him with the now empty gun. After examining Adam's body, Zep informs him that he was too late and he has to kill him. However, Adam (having survived the gunshot) attacks Zep and bludgeons him to death with a toilet tank lid. Afterwards, Dr. Gordon tells Adam that he has to go and get help and that he would bleed to death if he stayed with Adam. Despite Adam's efforts to make him stay, Dr. Gordon slowly crawls out of the bathroom, promising Adam that he would bring someone back. This is the last time we see Dr. Gordon in any movie until Saw 3D.

### Full Disclosure Report

Dr. Gordon's disappearance is covered in the mockumentary short film Full Disclosure Report, which is an in-universe documentary that focuses on Jigsaw's games that takes place after Saw and before Saw II. Alison Gordon refused to be interviewed, but friends and neighbors did accept interviews, in which they revealed details about Alison's captivity and her telephone conversations with Dr. Gordon during that time. They also dismissed the rumours that Dr. Gordon was Jigsaw, stating that he wasn't the type of person to put his own family's lives in danger. One of Dr. Gordon's colleagues was also interviewed, talking about Dr. Gordon's devotion to his job and that he likely spent more time at the hospital than he did at home with his family.

### Saw II

Beginning with Saw II up until Saw VI, the films never reveal Dr. Gordon's fate after crawling out of the bathroom. In a flashback scene, Dr. Gordon's name can be seen outside his office door. Near the end of the film, where Amanda Young and Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen) discover the bathroom, Dr. Gordon's decaying severed foot can be seen along with that of Adam and Zep's corpse, revealing that he did not return to Adam as promised. Archived audio from Saw of Dr. Gordon is also heard as well.

### Saw III

Dr. Gordon's severed foot in seen in two seperate scenes in Saw III; firstly at the start of the film where Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is trapped in the bathroom and escapes and again in a flashback showing Adam's death at the hands of Amanda, likely hours or possibly days after cutting it off. It is also revealed in Saw III that Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) worked in the same hospital as Dr. Gordon. When she as abducted by Jigsaw, Lynn told him she recognised him and that Gordon was his doctor, with Amanda (who was revealed in Saw II to be an apprentice of John Kramer) forcing her to read Dr. Gordon's report on John.

### Saw IV

In Saw IV, Detective Fisk (Mike Realba) notes that "another doctor" had disappeared from the same hospital that Lynn Denlon was abducted from. Fisk is likely referring to Dr. Gordon, who went missing before Lynn did. The same flashback from Saw II where Dr. Gordon's name is shown outside his office door appears in this film as well.

### Saw V

In Saw V, Dr. Gordon's name is shown amongst others during the scene where Special Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) browses through FBI documents of potential Jigsaw victims. It is also revealed in a flashback that Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) was responsible for planting Dr. Gordon's penlight at the location of one of Jigsaw's games, taking the suspicion away from him and John.

### Saw VI

In a flashback in Saw VI that happens before the first Saw film, John has a conversation with insurance executive William Easton (Peter Outerbridge), Dr. Gordon is mentioned by name.

### Saw 3D

Saw 3D finally reveals what happened to Dr. Gordon after the events of Saw. After crawling out of the bathroom, he stumbled upon a hot steaming pipe in a set of underground hallways, which Dr. Gordon used to cauterize his wound, but passed out due to the shock and immense pain. Shortly after sealing Adam in the bathroom, John found Dr. Gordon unconsciousness in the hallways, dragging him away and congratulating him on his survival. It is later revealed that John gave him a prosthetic foot and nursed him back to health.
He is next seen attending the Jigsaw survivor group meeting, where he meets Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery) for the first time, who become famous and gained recognition for publishing a book which explained his life-changing experience of surviving one of Jigsaw's tests. However, what everyone in the group didn't know (except for Dr. Gordon) was that the book was a lie, and Dr. Gordon sarcastically mocks his ability to get something positive out of his horrifying experiences. Bobby, however, tries to act confident and thanks him. Soon after this meeting, Bobby is actually abducted by Hoffman and is forced to complete a real Jigsaw test that contained the other members of the Jigsaw survivor group Bobby is forced to save.
   "Hello, Dr. Gordon. You are perhaps my greatest asset. Without you, my work over the last few years would not have been possible. That having been said, I have a request. Watch over Jill and should anything happen to her, I want you to act immediately on my behalf. In return for that, I will keep no more secrets from you. I've showed you a lot of places, but there is one that will be perhaps the most meaningful to you."
— Dr. Gordon's video message left to him by John in Saw 3D
After Hoffman kills John's wife Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) and attempts to flee the city after her death makes news reports, Dr. Gordon and two other men in pig masks attack Hoffman outside his lair and ambush him. It is at this point where it is revealed in various flashbacks that sometime after John had nursed the doctor back to health, he recruited Dr. Gordon as an apprentice and while Jill was aware of this, Hoffman and Amanda were not. As such, Jill had sent a package for Dr. Gordon which contained a video tape recorded by John sometime before his death. The message told Dr. Gordon to watch over Jill after he dies and in the event of her death, he should act immediately on his behalf and in return for that he would reveal all of his secrets and show him the place that was the "most meaningful" to him. These flashbacks also show the previous traps Dr. Gordon assisted in making possible: he surgically put a key behind Michael Marks' eye in Saw II, had selected Lynn Denlon as John's surgeon in Saw III, had sewed Art Blank's mouth and Trevor's eyes for their test in Saw IV and wrote an anonymous note to Hoffman in Saw V claiming he knew who he was. Dr. Gordon then takes Hoffman to the same bathroom he was tested years prior and chained him to the same pipe as Adam's rotting skeletal corpse. After Hoffman awakens, he tries to use the hacksaw Dr. Gordon used to saw off his own foot in Saw but Dr. Gordon sarcastically remarks "I don't think so" and throws it out of the bathroom, eliminating Hoffman's only chance of escape. Hoffman can only yell in protest and despair as Dr. Gordon turns off the lights and seals the bathroom door, leaving Hoffman to die.

## In other media
### Saw: Rebirth

Dr. Gordon briefly appears in the comic book Saw: Rebirth, which is set before the events of Saw but is considered non-canon. As John Kramer's physical conditional deteriorates, he visits a hospital where Dr. Gordon diagnoses him with terminal cancer that will kill John in a certain time period. Later in the comic, Zep Hindle (the orderly who takes Alison and Diana Gordon hostage in the first film) tells John that Dr. Gordon "can be a real prick", further expanding on his cold-hearted attitude that ultimately had him tested, and implied that Dr. Gordon was cheating on his wife.

### Saw: The Video Game

While Dr. Gordon does not appear in Saw: The Video Game released in 2009, he is mentioned. In the video game, Detective Tapp from the first Saw film is nursed back to health and is forced to play one of Jigsaw's games. Throughout this game, he finds three different black boxes, which contained the reports of a doctor. Tapp spoke about another doctor, who had begun therapy at an asylum after suffering an mental breakdown. This therapy led to a significant improvement of his mental state. Besides details about his mental condition, these reports also contained information about the patient's personal life, such as the impendent birth of his child, which he was looking forward to. According to the psychological profile, the patient was a polite, highly intelligent, narcissistic and mostly emotional person, which leads to the assumption that this could be Dr. Gordon.

### Saw II: Flesh & Blood

The sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, also numerously mentions Dr. Gordon via documents and audio files from Detective Tapp found by his son, Michael, which touch more on Tapp's obsession with Dr. Gordon. According to Tapp, Lawrence perfectly fitted the psychological profile of the Jigsaw Killer, especially because he had suffered an emotional breakdown at an early age and therefore had to be admitted to a clinic. Besides this, Tapp's documents also contained information about Dr. Gordon's work, revealing that he was also responsible for the diagnosis of other patients' terminal cancer, with Tapp assuming that this might have been the reason for the doctor's cold, clinical and emotionally unstable personality.

## Development
### Characterization

According to Elwes, much of Dr. Gordon's development throughout the first film was not in the script but was improvised and discussed as the film went on, stating:
   "As far as his breakdown is concerned, that was not in the script. That was something that James and I worked on- we said we have to take this guy from being the paternalistic character who was trying to calm Adam down at the beginning of the film and by the end, they have swapped roles. I said to James I thought that would be an interesting dynamic if we did that, so we worked on that until there was a nice balance there. I tend to not think in terms of likability for the character. I think the grey areas are much more fascinating to play because we're all grey. No one is black and white or good or bad or happy or sad or what have you. [We all have] particular idiosyncrasies that make them fascinating and that's how I tend to approach a character. I try not to judge them because if you get into the area of judging the character you're playing you're getting into a sticky area".
The original script for Saw described Dr. Gordon as a 46-year-old man who had the "handsome dignified face of an important white male". The first Saw film left Dr. Gordon's fate ambiguous as he is never seen again after crawling out of the bathroom. In an audio commentary special feature that consisted of Elwes, Leigh Whannell and James Wan on the Saw: Uncut Edition DVD, Whannell asked Elwes on his thoughts of Dr. Gordon's fate, with Elwes responded with: "Let's face it, guys: he's severed his whole leg off. The loss of blood alone, even with that pathetic tourniquet he made with his shirt. It's a wrap. He's not going to get two blocks". Despite this, in a October 2004 interview to promote Saw, he stated that while he was wary of sequels, if he was presented with a script just as exciting as the first film, he would be open to reprising the role in a sequel. However, in the same interview, he had claimed that he had not yet made any money of Saw and that if the film were to gross over $100 million at the box office, he would contact his lawyer.
On August 8, 2005, Elwes filed a lawsuit against his management firm, Evolution Entertainment, and the producers of Saw (who were Oren Koules, Gregg Hoffman and Mark Burg), in which he alleged "breach of contract and unjust enrichment". In this lawsuit, Elwes claimed that he was promised at least one percent of the producers' net profits from the film and had only received $53,275, including a salary of $2,587.20. Additionally, he alleged that in September 2004, producer Mark Burg told Elwes that he would make more money of off Saw than any movie he had previously starred in. He also claimed that Monica Potter, who starred as Dr. Gordon's wife, Alison, was paid more than $250,000 for her work on the film and that Whannell had received a higher amount of the movie's net gross than co-star Danny Glover, who portrayed Detective David Tapp, did. Elwes seeked $500,000 in damages, but the case was eventually settled out of court.
Due to this lawsuit, it would be several years before Elwes returned to the franchise, though the character was still referenced to and mentioned in some of the sequels albeit without confirming whether he survived the events of the first film. Fan theories of Dr. Gordon's potential survival and possible status as a Jigsaw accomplice went back as early as Saw II (2005); this was due to the hooded person that is seen placing the key behind Michael Marks' eye in his trap is shown to be limping, leading to fans to believe this person was Dr. Gordon as the character had sawed off his own foot during the climax of the first Saw film. Director of Saw II Darren Lynn Bousman adressed this in the DVD audio commentary for the film, he stated that he portrayed the hooded figure to add "flavor" to the performance, but did not intend for it to be Dr. Gordon. In 2021, Leigh Whannell revealed that in the writing process for Saw III (2006), he had written an alternate version of the film which he was "really into" that had Dr. Gordon as the main protagonist; the opening scene from Saw 3D that showed John Kramer finding Dr. Gordon after crawling out of the bathroom was intended to be included in the opening of this script instead. The plot would still have included Amanda Young and John in prominent roles, but instead of having Dr. Lynn and Jeff Denlon, it would be Dr. Gordon going through another test to save Alison and Diana, who had been abducted by Jigsaw and Amanda once again, but it remains unknown whether or not Elwes was asked to return for the film or if he declined in the aftermath of the lawsuit. However, Monica Potter was approached to reprise her role as Alison Gordon, bur declined as she felt she had done "plenty enough" with the first film. In DVD audio commentaries for Saw IV (2007), Bousman has stated that he intended to leave the question of Dr. Gordon's fate unanswered and let the fans make up their own minds. It was also originally planned for Dr. Gordon to appear as a boss fight in Saw: The Video Game (2009), where he covered his face with a pig mask and fought Detective Tapp.
Elwes would return in the final film, Saw 3D (2010), which finally reveals what happened to Dr. Gordon, with John finding him after crawling out of the bathroom and nursing him back to health and eventually recruiting Dr. Gordon as a Jigsaw apprentice. Elwes described his character as having an element of Stockholm Syndrome. The audio commentary for Saw 3D reveals that after being released by John, Dr. Gordon reunited with Alison and Diana but after his unstable mental condition got worse, Alison left him and took Diana with her as she was unable to cope with his mental instability. The commentary also reveals that in the original script for Saw 3D, the two pigmen who helped Dr. Gordon capture Mark Hoffman (who were never revealed in the finished film) were supposed to be Brad and Ryan from the beginning of the film. Initially, their trap scene would have included a shot of Dr. Gordon and John standing in the crowd, watching their game.
When asked about a possible return to the Saw franchise in 2021, Elwes said "never say never" about reprising the role. However, in a 2023 interview, Elwes gave a dubious response about returning, stating: "I have no comment one way or the other about that franchise, I really can't speak to it. I'm happy for the filmmakers that they continue to make money, and that it seems to be a financial bonus for them, I really can't speak to it, because I'm not really involved anymore".

### Casting

After watching the Saw short film on DVD, British actor Cary Elwes, who was known for his starring roles in The Princess Bride (1987) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), found it "riveting" and was "blown away by the fact that these guys had taken the time and effort to make this little short". He read the script in one sitting and Elwes was fascinated by the originality and uniqueness of the story that had well-rounded characters and "a message, albeit a distorted one". Upon liking the script, Elwes met up with James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who were newcomers to the film industry; Saw producer Oren Koules was Elwes' manager at the time. Elwes was ultimately cast as the Dr. Lawrence Gordon character. As Wan and Whannell were not big names at the time, Elwes said that the role required a "leap of faith" from his part, stating:
   "That’s why I think the short was such a smart move. They had been trying to sell the script for a while on its own, but nobody was really biting, especially because of the issue that they were newcomers and this town (Hollywood) is not always welcoming to newcomers, unless they can prove themselves. But in this case, they weren’t asking for a lot of money and they weren’t asking for a long schedule. I think that the fact that they had shot some footage to show what we could expect from the film is what sealed the deal for everybody".
In order to help prepare for his role as Dr. Gordon, who is described as an oncologist, Elwes visited an actual doctor at Department of Neurosurgery at the University of California, who helped him researching about his character's profession. Filming of Saw began in September 2003 and it took six days to shoot the bathroom scenes with Dr. Gordon and Adam, and these scenes were shot in the order that they occured in in order to prevent accidental continuity jumps and to help Elwes and Whannell stay in character and understand what their characters were going through. Wan made sure that Elwes' shots as Dr. Gordon were very steady and controlled to match the character's calm and collected personality. In addition to this, the two actors were unable to rehearse any of their scenes together without disrupting the schedules of Danny Glover and Michael Emerson (respective portayers of David Tapp and Zep Hindle), who were only available for a certain number of days. According to Elwes, his dialogue averaged 12 to 16 pages a day, which he considered a great challenge. He also considered the scenes where he was chained to be challenging as well, stating the shackles caused serious lacerations to his ankle. However, despite the challenges, Elwes stated that he had a "great time" working with Wan and Whannell and would "definitely" collaborate with them again sometime in the future.
After a long absence from the franchise due to Elwes' lawsuit, by the time casting for Saw 3D came in December 2009, which was planned to be the final Saw film, Elwes finally returned and reprised his role as Dr. Gordon. The filmmakers of the Saw franchise planned for Dr. Gordon's character to be brought back earlier, but Elwes wanted to specifically wait until the finale. He described the character in this entry as having an element of Stockholm syndrome, and said that the filmmakers had all the input on the direction of his character, which Elwes thought was "great". He also claimed that in preparation for his return, he sat through a Saw "marathon" and watched all of the movies leading up to Saw 3D. He also thanked the Saw fans for campaigning for Dr. Gordon's return, stating:
   "That is why I am back, really, for the fans. It is the fans that campaign. I really have to thank the fans out there. Thank you for campaigning for me to return! They wanted to know what happened to Dr Gordon and so they wrote in a lot. Thank you for all your letters. And they blogged a lot. Thank you for your blogs. And so we thought that this being the last in the series, it was appropriate to bookend the series with answers for some of the questions about what happened to Dr Gordon".

## Reception

In a list made by Madison Rennie from WhatCulture of the ten best final guys in horror movies, Dr. Gordon was ranked number 2, calling the character the "ultimate final guy" of the Saw franchise. Another list of the top ten best moments from the Saw franchise, the scene where Dr. Gordon saws off his own foot in the original film was ranked at number 7, with its description stating:
   Though nowhere near as gory as later instalments (sic), the central concept of the original film remains powerful: would you saw your own leg off to save yourself? Spurred on by hearing the screams of his wife and child, Dr. Lawrence Gordon decides the answer's "yes", forming a makeshift tourniquet and putting that medical training to good use. Whilst not that explicit, Adam's screams and Gordon’s wild eyes help really sell the moment. At least he’s a doctor.
Kevin Pantoja of Screen Rant named Dr. Gordon as one of the best characters in the Saw franchise, and an article on the CBR website listed Dr. Gordon as the second best protagonist in the franchise, with author Kevin DelSignore declaring that Dr. Gordon "wasn't a perfect person but he loved his wife and daughter so much that he hacked off his foot so he could get to them". Additionally, Olly Dyche included Dr. Gordon in his ranking of the best Saw villains, putting the character at number 6.
Responses to Cary Elwes' performance in the first film were generally mixed-to-unfavourable. Owen Gleiberman writing for Entertainment Weekly was negative, accusing Elwes of overacting. Andy Patrizio of IGN also criticized Elwes' performance, remarking his acting was as bad as Jeremy Irons' in the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons. Zachary Doiron for Film Inquiry believed both Elwes and co-star Leigh Whannell (Adam Stanheight) should have given better performances which could have helped make Saw a better film. Carla Meyer from the San Francisco Chronicle, however, had a more positive reaction, stating: "Elwes plays Gordon as strident and furrowed of brow. He's delightful". On Robin Baxter's list of "9 Distractingly Bad Performances In Otherwise Great Movies", Elwes and Leigh Whannell's portrayals as Dr. Gordon and Adam were ranked number 2, stating he felt Elwes gave a "flat" performance and "his terrible attempt at an American accent was similarly jarring". He went to add that his acting hadn't improved by the time he returned in Saw 3D.
Elwes' portrayal as Dr. Gordon was better received in Saw 3D, although the majority of critics were very unhappy with the limited screen time Elwes received in the film, along with that of Tobin Bell as Jigsaw. Eric Goldman for IGN was one of these critics, stating that it was impossible "not to be bothered" by their minimal screen time and the little time that was spent with them had barely any impact on the film. Aaron Neuwirth was also confused at Elwes' lack of screen time, although he said "it's nice to see Elwes again". Despite this, Mark Harrison praised Elwes' performance, stating he was "great" in the film. On a list curated by James Egan of "10 Actors Who Were Criminally Wasted In Famous Horror Movies", Elwes for Saw 3D was ranked at number 4, stating: "Even though Gordon's return was hyped beyond measure, he barely made an impression".
For his portrayal as Dr. Gordon in the original 2004 Saw film, Elwes was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance in the 2005 edition of the show.