# Denise Gough

Denise Gough (born 28 February 1980) is an Irish actress. On television, she is best known for her roles in the BBC Two crime drama Paula (2017), the ITV miniseries Too Close (2021) and the Disney+ series Andor (2022–). Her films include Colette (2018), The Other Lamb (2019), Monday (2020), and Martyrs Lane (2021). She has received a number of accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as a nominations for a Tony Award and a British Academy Television Award.

## Early life

Born in Wexford and raised in Ennis, County Clare, daughter of an electrician, Gough is the seventh of eleven siblings. One of her younger sisters is the actress Kelly Gough. She trained as a soprano before leaving Ireland for London at 15. She was awarded a grant to study at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in Wandsworth aged 18, and graduated from ALRA in 2003.

## Theatre career

In 2012, she was nominated for the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her performances in Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms at the Lyric Hammersmith and Nancy Harris's Our New Girl at the Bush Theatre. In January 2014 she was Julia in The Duchess of Malfi, the inaugural production at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London. At the National Theatre, London, in September 2015 she presented an "electrifying" performance as a recovering substance user in Duncan Macmillan's People, Places and Things, directed by Jeremy Herrin. She reprised the role when the production transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in March 2016, and subsequently won the Olivier Award for Best Actress. She returned to the National Theatre in April 2017 playing the role of Harper in Marianne Elliot's revival of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America, for which she won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Gough then returned to People, Places & Things for its New York transfer. In February 2018, Gough returned to the role of Harper in the Broadway transfer of the National Theatre's production of Angels in America, alongside the majority of the London cast.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2007 | Outlanders | Barmaid |
| 2010 | The Kid | Patsy |
| 2010 | Robin Hood | Village Mother |
| 2014 | The Quiet Roar | Research Assistant |
| 2014 | Jimmy's Hall | Tess |
| 2018 | Juliet, Naked | Gina |
| 2018 | Colette | Mathilde de Morny |
| 2019 | The Kid Who Would Be King | Mary |
| 2019 | The Other Lamb | Sarah |
| 2020 | Vores mand i Amerika | Charlotte Kauffmann |
| 2020 | Monday | Chloe |
| 2021 | Martyrs Lane | Sarah |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Casualty | Susan Parish | Episode: "Three's a Crowd" |
| 2007 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Christine Faraday | Episode: "Limbo" |
| 2008 | The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall | Michelle | Documentary dramatization |
| 2009 | The Bill | Liz O'Halloran | Episode: "Lost Soul" |
| 2009 | Waking the Dead | Kathleen | Episodes: "Magdalene: Part I" and "Magdalene: Part II" |
| 2010 | Silent Witness | Danielle Boyce | Episodes: "Run: Part I" and "Run: Part II" |
| 2011 | Holby City | Mona Cadogan | Episode: "Culture Shock" |
| 2012 | Titanic: Blood and Steel | Emily Hill | 11 episodes |
| 2013 | What Remains | Liz Fletcher | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Complicit | Lucy | Television film |
| 2014 | Stella | Collette Jensen | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | The Duchess of Malfi | Julia | Television film |
| 2016 | Apple Tree Yard | DS Johns | 1 episode |
| 2016 | The Fall | Dr Alison Walden | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Fallon | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Paula | Paula | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Too Close | Connie Mortensen | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Under the Banner of Heaven | Dianna Lafferty | Miniseries; Main role |
| 2022 | Andor | Dedra Meero | Main role, 9 episodes |
| 2023 | Who Is Erin Carter? | Lena | Main role, 6 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Studio | Notes |
| 2013 | Divinity: Dragon Commander | Catherine | Larian Studios | Voice |
| 2015 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Yennefer of Vengerberg | CD Projekt Red | Voice |
| 2015 | Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below | Alena | Omega Force | Voice |
| 2016 | Dragon Quest Heroes II | Alena | Omega Force | Voice |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Character | Theatre |
| 2004 | By the Bog of Cats | Caroline Cassidy | Wyndham's Theatre London, England |
| 2004 | The Kindness of Strangers | Cheryl | Liverpool Everyman Liverpool, England |
| 2006 | Everything is Illuminated | Brod | Hampstead Theatre London, England |
| 2006 | O Go My Man | Elsa | Royal Court Theatre London, England |
| 2007 | Someone Else's Shoes | Mary | Soho Theatre London, England |
| 2009 | The Grouch | Celia | West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds, England |
| 2009 | Six Characters in Search of an Author | Stepdaughter | Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester, England |
| 2009 | Six Characters in Search of an Author | Stepdaughter | Gielgud Theatre London, England |
| 2009 | The Birds | Julia | Gate Theatre Dublin, Ireland |
| 2010 | The Plough and the Stars | Nora Clitheroe | Abbey Theatre Dublin, Ireland |
| 2010 | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Mary Jane Hanrahan | Trafalgar Studios London, England |
| 2011 | The Painter | Jenny Cole | Arcola Theatre London, England |
| 2012 | Our New Girl | Annie | Bush Theatre London, England |
| 2012 | Desire Under the Elms | Anna Putnam | Lyric Hammersmith London, England |
| 2014 | Adler and Gibb | Louise | Royal Court Theatre London, England |
| 2014 | The Duchess of Malfi | Julia | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse London, England |
| 2015 | People, Places and Things | Emma | Dorfman Theatre National Theatre London, England |
| 2016 | People, Places and Things | Emma | Wyndham's Theatre London, England |
| 2024 | People, Places and Things | Emma | Trafalgar Theatre London, England |
| 2017 | Angels in America | Harper Pitt | Lyttleton Theatre National Theatre London, England |
| 2017 | People, Places and Things | Emma | St. Ann's Warehouse New York City, NY, U.S. |
| 2018 | Angels in America | Harper Pitt | Neil Simon Theatre New York City, NY, U.S. |
| 2022 | Portia Coughlan | Portia Coughlan | Abbey Theatre Dublin, Ireland |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2015 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Actress | People, Places and Things | Nominated |
| 2015 | Critics' Circle Theatre Award | Best Actress | People, Places and Things | Won |
| 2016 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | People, Places and Things | Won |
| 2016 | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Actress in a Play | People, Places and Things | Nominated |
| 2018 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | People, Places and Things | Nominated |
| 2018 | Obie Award | Performance | People, Places and Things | Won |
| 2018 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Angels in America | Nominated |
| 2018 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Angels in America | Won |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Angels in America | Nominated |
| 2018 | Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | Angels in America | Honouree |
| 2022 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actress | Too Close | Nominated |
| 2022 | Peabody Award | Entertainment | Andor | Won |