# John Gaden

John Stuart Gaden AO (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, where he performed in various school plays. After school he studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. 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 in Perth, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie, 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, which resulted in a positive review from The Sydney Morning Herald's theatre critic Harry Kippax, which in turn led to a three-year contract with the Old Tote Theatre Company (the precursor of the Sydney Theatre Company). He has also recorded audiobooks of British children's series Fireman Sam and Australian children's series Magic Mountain.
He performed many roles with Sydney's Nimrod Theatre Company in the 1970s. For three years he was associate director of the Sydney Theatre Company with Richard Wherrett, during which time he directed and co-directed the notable production of The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby.
From 1986 to 1989 Gaden was artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia based in Adelaide. In Adelaide he co-directed various productions with Gale Edwards. He has also appeared with the Belvoir St Theatre and the Queensland Theatre Company.
Gaden had a strong connection with novelist and playwright Patrick White. He performed in a 1980 ABC TV adaptation of White's play Big Toys, a 1985 production of his play Signal Driver: A Morality Play for the Times and the film of White's novel The Eye of the Storm. As Artistic Director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, Gaden commissioned White's final play, Shepherd on the Rocks (1987) and played the lead role in the premiere production, alongside Geoffrey Rush and Kerry Walker.
Gaden would appear in ABC legal comedy Fisk, Gaden was announced to return for the third series

## Awards

John Gaden was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1986 Australia Day 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'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 for Michael Frayn's Democracy.

## Personal

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

## Stage
### As actor

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1961 | Twelfth Night | | University of Sydney |
| 1961 | Serjeant Musgrave's Dance: an Un-historical Parable | | University of Sydney |
| 1962 | Coriolanus | | University of Sydney |
| 1967 | King Lear | | Theatre 62 |
| 1967 | Rattle of a Simple Man | | Theatre 62 |
| 1967 | Cabbages at the Cross Roads | | Theatre 62 |
| 1968 | The Pied Piper of Hamelin | | Theatre 62 |
| 1968 | On Approval | | Theatre 62 |
| 1968 | The Anniversary / Poor Bitos | | Theatre 62 for Adelaide Festival of the Arts |
| 1968 | Green Julia | | Theatre 62 |
| 1968 | The Father | | Adelaide Teachers College Theatre |
| 1968 | Burke's Company | | Adelaide Teachers College Theatre with State Theatre Company of South Australia & Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust |
| 1969 | The Rope Dancers | Lameshnik | St Martins Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1969 | Out of the Crocodile | | St Martins Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1969 | Have You Any Dirty Washing Mother Dear? | | St Martins Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1970 | The Haunted House | Theopropides | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Black Comedy | Harold Gorringe | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Twelfth Night | Feste | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Othello | Iago | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | The Crucible | | Old Tote Theatre Company |
| 1970 | Brecht on Brecht | | The Old Dolphin Theatre |
| 1970 | The Seagull | | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Hadrian the Seventh | | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Narrow Road to the Deep North | | The Old Dolphin Theatre |
| 1970 | The Voice of the Explorer | | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | The Voice of God | | St George's Cathedral, Perth |
| 1970 | The Voices of Reason and Romance | | Octagon Theatre |
| 1970 | Children's Day | Tom Sutton (Emma's solicitor) | St Martin's Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1971 | Hoddel's Remarkable Handcart | | University of NSW |
| 1971 | King Oedipus | Leader of the Chorus | Princess Theatre Melbourne, Octagon Theatre & University of Adelaide |
| 1971 | Flash Jim Vaux | James Hardy Vaux (Flash Jim) | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1971-72 | The Man who Shot the Albatross | | Princess Theatre Melbourne, Canberra Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide & Elizabethan Theatre |
| 1971 | The Trial of the Catonsville Nine | | Russell Street Theatre |
| 1972 | Uncle Vanya | | University of NSW |
| 1972 | How Could You Believe Me When I Said I'd Be Your Valet When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life? | | Canberra Theatre with Old Tote Theatre Company |
| 1973 | Arsenic and Old Lace | | University of NSW |
| 1973 | King Richard The Second | Richard II | Sydney Opera House |
| 1973 | What If You Died Tomorrow? | | Sydney Opera House |
| 1974 | Love for Love | | Sydney Opera House |
| 1974 | The Cradle of Hercules | | Sydney Opera House with Old Tote Theatre Company |
| 1975 | You Want It Don't You Billy? | | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1975 | Peer Gynt | | Sydney Opera House |
| 1975 | Singles | | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1976 | Travesties | Henry Carr | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1976 | A Handful of Friends | | Playhouse, Adelaide |
| 1976 | Never the Twain | | Playhouse, Adelaide |
| 1976 | The Recruiting Officer | Captain Plume | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1976 | The Duchess of Malfi | Ferdinand | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1976-77 | Dirty Linen | Cocklebury-Smythe MP | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1977 | Young Mo | Mr Sluice / Stiffy | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1977 | Travesties | Henry Carr | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1977 | Ashes | Colin Harding | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1978 | Oedipus the King / Oedipus at Colonus | Creon | Playhouse, Adelaide |
| 1978 | Three O'Clock Farewell | | Playhouse Adelaide |
| 1978-79 | Kold Komfort Kaffee | Actor / singer | Nimrod Theatre Company & Space Theatre, Adelaide |
| 1978 | Pandora's Cross | Mac Greene | Paris Theatre, Sydney |
| 1978 | Visions | President Lopez of Paraguay | Paris Theatre, Sydney |
| 1978 | Jumpers | Professor George Moore | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1979 | Life of Galileo | Galileo Galilei | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1980 | The Sunny South | Dick Duggan | Sydney Opera House |
| 1980 | Close of Play | Benedict | Sydney Opera House & Theatre Royal, Sydney |
| 1980 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Silvia / Speed / Sir Eglamour | Seymour Centre |
| 1980 | Measure for Measure | Escalus / Abhorson | Seymour Centre |
| 1981 | The Man from Mukinupin | Cecil Brunner / Max Montebello | Sydney Opera House |
| 1981 | Hamlet | Ghost / Player King | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1981 | Innocent Bystanders | | Stables Theatre |
| 1982 | Amadeus | Antonio Salieri | Theatre Royal, Sydney with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1983 | Mostly Mozart - Australian Chamber Orchestra | Narrator | Sydney Opera House |
| 1983 | The Way of the World | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1984 | The Pillars of Society | Karsten Bernick | Sydney Opera House |
| 1985 | Signal Driver | Theo | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 1985 | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | | Seymour Centre |
| 1986 | Dreams in an Empty City | Wilson | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia for Adelaide Festival of Arts |
| 1986 | The Real Thing | Henry | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1986 | Wild Honey | | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1987 | Shepherd on the Rocks | Reverend Daniel Shepherd | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1987 | The Winter's Tale | Leontes / Shepherd | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1988 | 1841 | | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia for Adelaide Festival of Arts & Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1988 | King Lear | King Lear | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1988 | A Dream Play | Lawyer | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company for Festival of Sydney & Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1990 | The Tempest | Prospero | Playhouse, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1989 | Lost Weekend | | Space Theatre, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1989 | Hedda Gabler | Judge Brack | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1989 | Ring Round the Moon | | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1990 | The Secret Rapture | Tom French | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1990 | Moby Dick | Ahab | Malthouse Theatre for Melbourne International Festival of the Arts |
| 1990 | Present Laughter | Garry Essendine | Playhouse, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1991 | Racing Demon | Reverend Lionel Espy | Playhouse, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1991 | Uncle Vanya | Vanya | Russell Street Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1991 | A Flea in Her Ear | Chandebise | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1991-92 | Money and Friends | Peter | Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Melbourne, Playhouse, Adelaide & Canberra Theatre with Queensland Theatre Company |
| 1991-92 | The Wizard of Oz - The Musical | Professor Chester Marvel / The Wizard / The Gatekeeper | State Theatre, Melbourne with RSC |
| 1992-93 | Death and the Maiden | Roberto Miranda | Wharf Theatre, Russell Street Theatre, Playhouse, Perth, Space Theatre, Adelaide & Sydney Opera House with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1993 | Coriolanus | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1993 | The Visit | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1994 | Furious | | Space Theatre, Adelaide for Adelaide Festival of Arts, Malthouse Theatre & Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1994 | Hysteria, or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Mind | Sigmund Freud | Playhouse, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1995 | Sydney Stories 1: The Ninth Wonder / The Price of Prayer / The Last Days of a Famous Mime / Family Running for Mr. Whippy | | Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1995 | Picasso at the Lapin Agile | | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 1995 | Saint Joan | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1995 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | | Glen Street Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1995 | Arcadia | | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia, Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Canberra Theatre & His Majesty's Theatre, Perth |
| 1996 | As You Like It | Wardrobe | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1996-97 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | | Queens Park Theatre, Perth, Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, Esperance Civic Centre, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Burnie Arts and Function Centre, Princess Theatre, Launceston, Canberra Theatre & Sydney Opera House |
| 1997 | Ariadne auf Naxos | | State Theatre, Melbourne & Sydney Opera House with Opera Australia for Sydney Festival |
| 1997 | A Hard God | | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1998-2001 | Cloudstreet | Lester Lamb | Berth 9, Darling Harbour, Playhouse, Adelaide & Malthouse Theatre, Theatre Royal, Sydney, Playhouse, QPAC, Olivier Theatre, London & Harvey Lichtenstein Theater, New York with Company B Belvoir / Black Swan Theatre |
| 1998 | Henry IV | Falstaff | Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Monash University, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth & Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare |
| 1998 | Love for Love | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2000 | The White Devil | Cardinal Monticelso | Theatre Royal, Sydney with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2000 | The Unexpected Man | Persky | Belvoir Theatre Company & Fairfax Studio, Melbourne |
| 2001 | No Man's Land | Spooner / Hirst | Queensland Theatre Company & Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2002-04 | Copenhagen | Niels Bohr | Wharf Theatre, Athenaeum Theatre, Glen Street Theatre, Monash University, Playhouse Canberra & Playhouse, QPAC with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2003 | Waiting for Godot | Vladimir | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 2003 | Major Barbara | Andrew Undershaft | Parade Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2003 | The Fever | | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 2004 | Victory: Choices in Reaction | Scrope | Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2004 | The Miser | Harpagon (The Miser) | Sydney Opera House |
| 2005 | Democracy | | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2006 | The Lost Echo | Tiresias | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2005 | Stuff Happens | Jack Straw (British foreign minister) | Seymour Centre & Comedy Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2005 | The Cherry Orchard | Gaev | Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2006 | Mother Courage and Her Children | | Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2006 | The Bourgeois Gentleman | Philosophy Tutor | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2007-08 | The Season at Sarsaparilla | Clive Pogson | Sydney Opera House & Playhouse, Melbourne with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2007 | The Art of War | Patterson Blake / Emmett / Chorus | Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2007 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Starveling / Peaseblossom | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2007 | Tales from the Vienna Woods | Leopold | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2008 | The Serpent's Teeth: Citizens | Rasid | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2009 | The War of the Roses | Sir John Falstaff / John of Gaunt / Edmund, Duke of York | His Majesty's Theatre, Perth & STC |
| 2009 | Pericles | Gower (Narrator) & others | Sydney Opera House & Playhouse, Melbourne |
| 2009 | King Lear | Lear | Dunstan Playhouse |
| 2010 | The Trial | Priest &.Herr Huld | Subiaco Arts Centre, Malthouse Theatre & Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company & ThinIce |
| 2011-12 | The Wild Duck | Håkon Werle (Greger's father) | Belvoir Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre & National Theatre, Oslo |
| 2011 | The Seagull | Pyotr Nikolayevich Sorin | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 2011 | No Man's Land | Hirst | Bille Brown Theatre with Queensland Theatre & Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2012 | Face to Face | Uncle | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2013 | Other Desert Cities | Lyman Wyeth | Southbank Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2013 | Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Polonius | Sydney Theatre |
| 2013 | Hamlet | Claudius | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 2013-14 | The Wild Duck | Håkon Werle (Greger's father) | MuseumsQuartier, Vienna, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam, Barbican Theatre, London & Heath Ledger Theatre |
| 2015 | Seventeen | Mike | Belvoir Theatre Company |
| 2015 | Orlando | Elizabeth / Chorus | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2016 | Straight White Men | Ed | Fairfax Studio with Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2016 | The Hansard Monologues: Age of Entitlement | Malcolm Turnbull | Glen Street Theatre, Seymour Centre, Bruce Illawarra Performing Arts Centre & Old Parliament House, Canberra |
| 2016 | A Life in the Theatre | Robert | Eternity Playhouse with Darlinghurst Theatre Company |
| 2017 | 2071 | Professor Chris Rapley | Seymour Centre with Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2017 | The Rasputin Affair | Vlad | Ensemble Theatre |
| 2018 | Saint Joan | inquisitor / Archbishop | Roslyn Packer Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2018-19 | Diplomacy | Raoul Nordling | Ensemble Theatre |
| 2019 | Packer & Sons | Rupert Murdoch | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 2023 | Do Not Go Gentle | Oates | Roslyn Packer Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2023 | Mr Bailey's Minder | Leo Bailey | Ensemble Theatre |
Source: AusStage

### As crew

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1980 | The Ballad of Billy Lane | Director | Stables Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1981 | Rare Words - Brave Deeds | Playwright / Director | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1981 | No End of Blame | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1981 | Innocent Bystanders | Director | Stables Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1982 | The Conquest of Carmen Miranda | Director | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1983 | The Portage to San Cristobal | Director | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1983-85 | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Co-director | Theatre Royal, Sydney, State Theatre, Melbourne & Festival Theatre, Adelaide with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1984 | The Conquest of Carmen Miranda | Director | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1985 | The 1985 Scandals | Director | Belvoir Theatre Company & Universal Theatre |
| 1986 | Pravda | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1987 | After Magritte | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1987 | Much Ado About Nothing | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1987 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 1988 | 1841 | Co-director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia for Adelaide Festival of Arts & Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1988 | Rough Crossing | Director | Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Canberra, Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia & Gary Penny Productions |
| 1989 | The Tempest | Director | Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| 2022 | The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Dance Choreographer | Roslyn Packer Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2023 | The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race | Dr Holliday | Featured film |
| 2016 | The Death and Life of Otto Bloom | Charles Reiner | Mockumentary film |
| 2011 | The Eye of the Storm | Arnold Wyburd | Feature film |
| 2004 | Right Here Right Now | Judge Doyle | |
| 2003 | Excursion | Narrator | Short film |
| 2001 | WillFull | Bill | Feature film |
| 1998 | A Little Bit of Soul | Dr. Sommerville | Feature film |
| 1997 | Thank God He Met Lizzie | Dr O'Hara | Feature film |
| 1996 | Children of the Revolution | Professor C.W. Wilke | Feature film |
| 1995 | Mushrooms | Reverend Braningan | |
| 1995 | Dad and Dave: On Our Selection | Reverend McFarlane | Feature film |
| 1994 | Muriel's Wedding | Doctor | Feature film |
| 1984 | Conferenceville | Ian Selfridge | TV movie |
| 1980 | Big Toys | Ritchie | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Tichborne Affair | | TV movie |
| 1977 | The FJ Holden | Waiter | Feature film |
| 1976 | Mad Dog Morgan | Extra | Feature film |
| 1976 | Caddie | Solicitor | Feature film |
| 1976 | God Knows Why, But It Works | Defence Counsel | |
| 1975 | I'm Here, Darlings! | | TV movie |
| 1973 | The Affray at Fogg's Humpy | Frank Gardiner | Short film |
| 1973 | The Taming of the Shrew | | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | Bump | Kenny | 2 episodes |
| 2021–present | Fisk | Anthony Fisk | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | Significant Others | Pastor | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Operation Buffalo | Swanny | 3 episodes |
| 2010–18 | Rake | Governor General | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | A Place to Call Home | Dr. Stewart | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Underbelly | Merv Grogan | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Halifax f.p. | Toser's Solicitor | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Mother and Son | Funeral Assistant | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Players in the Gallery | | TV miniseries |
| 1979 | A Place in the World | Warwick Lacey | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1977 | Beyond Reasonable Doubt | Defence | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Luke's Kingdom | D'arcy | 1 episode |
| 1975 | The Explorers | Performer | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Homicide | George McKenna | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Matlock Police | Walter Anderson | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | S.T. Gill | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Flash Nick from Jindavick | Sergeant Carson | 1 episode |
| 1968 | Contrabandits | Crowe | 1 episode |

## Audiobooks

| Year | Title | Role |
| | Fireman Sam | Narrator |
| | Magic Mountain | Narrator |