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John Gaffney (actor)

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John Gaffney
Born
Hamilton, Scotland
OccupationActor
Years active1994–present
Notable work
"The Crews" "Defender" "Concrete Jungle" "SPLAIN" "Crime Movie"

John Gaffney is a Scottish actor.

Life and career

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John Gaffney was born in Hamilton in Scotland and moved to the island of Jersey in 1983. It was here where he got a taste for acting after being approached to take on a stage role by a local theatre director whilst singing in a night club.[1] Upon returning to Scotland in 1992, Gaffney was offered a place on an acting course at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formally the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) but family commitments forced him to decline the opportunity and instead decided to return to his trade as a plasterer.[2]

It was 1994 that Gaffney first stepped in front of the camera to take on the role of an abusive father in the short "Garys Day Out" for director Steve Pang, A semi autobiographical on Pang himself, An Emotional journey for Pang. In 2008, Gaffney returned to acting with small parts in short films including R.E.M, Hush, and A Spanking in Paradise. In 2011 he landed his first major role, starring as Dougie Fallon in the independently made television series The Crews. Starring alongside David Hayman and Stephen McCole, Gaffney's character Fallon was a high level member of a drug-dealing gang in Glasgow who has risen through the ranks of the criminal underworld. Despite a successful first series, the programme failed to find a buyer amongst the television studios including STV and BBC Scotland.[3] The following year, Gaffney landed the role of Superintendent Charles Sloan in the feature Sci Fi film Night is Day. The film tells the story of Jason McKenzie, a vigilante super hero operating in Glasgow fighting crime whilst Sloan attempts to dismiss McKenzies existence and silence all tales of the real-life superhero. The film premiered at the 2012 edition of the Glasgow Film Festival.[4]

Starring opposite Duncan Airlie James, 2013 saw Gaffney star as Liverpudlian gangster called Butler in the short film The Priest with Two Guns. The character, known as 'Butler the Bookie' is owed money by the brother of Father O'Reilly (played by James) who is being held hostage until the debt is repaid. The film picked up the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Amsterdam Film Festival.[5] In the same year, Gaffney also made appearances in the short films V for Visa and "Doug And Steves Big Holy Adventure" by John McPhail and Blink by Colin Ross Smith.

Cast and crew of Broken Record (L-R) John Gaffney, Darren McColl, Steven Patrick, Andy S. McEwan, Paul Michael Egan, Chris Quick

In 2014, Gaffney was approached by Andy S. McEwan to play the role of Tam in the short comedy film Broken Record.[6] The film saw Gaffney star as part of a comedy duo with Steven Patrick where they played a couple of house clearance workers in the 1990s who think they have stumbled upon hidden treasure in the form of old gramophone records. The film was widely praised by critics in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Josh Samford of RogueCinema wrote:

"The actors, particularly John Gaffney and Steven Patrick, get the beats of the comedy and they know what they’re trying to achieve. There’s a sort of sadness to the stupidity of these characters, but the actors infuse their dimwitted follies with a lot of energy and the short reflects this overall."[7]

Fred McNamara of ScreenRelish also added:

"Their endearing performances even possess some maverick black humour when Tam suggests they murder a fellow decorator off who wants in on their discovery."[8]

The film later appeared in a number of British film festivals including the Loch Ness Film Festival[9] in Inverness and the Portobello Film Festival in London.[10] Later that year, Gaffney was recommended by Chris Quick to director Johnny Herbin who was casting for his short film Electric Faces. Quick, a producer on the film, suggested Gaffney was an ideal candidate to play the part of Lucas after working with him on the set of Broken Record.[11] Herbin agreed with the decision and Gaffney was cast in the role and began filming his scenes in the summer of 2014.[12] The film is due for release in 2015. He will also appear in Where Do We Go From Here, the first feature film of Scottish director John McPhail.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Role Notes
1994 Gary's Day Out Steve Pang Father Short Film
2008 R.E.M Stuart Gilmartin Doctor Short Film
2010 Hush Fraser Coull Driver Short Film
A Spanking in Paradise Wayne Thallon Jimmy Short Film
2012 Night Is Day: The Movie Fraser Coull Superintendent Charles Sloan Feature Film
In This Town Andrew MacKenzie The driver Short Film
Mirror God Bernd Porr Father Short Film
2013 The Priest with Two Guns Rodney Reynold Butler Short Film
V for Visa John McPhail Tramp Short Film
Traitor Colin Ross Smith Michael Short Film
Blink Colin Ross Smith Blinker Short Film
Doug & Steve's Big Holy Adventure John McPhail The Priest Short Film
2014 Glory Hunter Craig Maclachlan Joe McGill Short Film
Broken Record Andy S. McEwan Tam Short Film
The Flaw Allan Benzies The Engineer Short Film
The Graduates Sean Paul Wilkie Policeman Short Film
2015 Electric Faces Johnny Herbin Lucas Short Film
Where Do We Go From Here John McPhail Male Nurse Feature Film
Crime Lord David Paul Baker Logan Mackenzie Feature Film
Crime Carter Ferguson Coleman Short Film
2016 Cleek Gary J Hewitt Raymond Feature Film
2018 One Night in Flanders Paul Darroch Sergeant John Dunbar Short Film
2019 Hard Boiled Gary McLellan Detective Mulligan Short Film
2020 Autumn Never Dies Chris Quick Black Eye Tam Short Film
2023 Lock & Load Nathan Shepka Darren Bundy Feature Film
A Second Chance Paul Darroch Jake Short Film

Television

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Year Title Director Role Notes
2011 The Crews Colin Ross Smith Dougie Fallon 6 Episodes
2012 River City Jim Sheilds Clerk Of The Court 1 Episode
2018 Crime Lord David Wilde Logan Mackenzie 3 Episodes

Stage

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Year Title Director Role Company
1990 Playboys Pat Du Bra Greg McIntosh Jersey Drama Society[13]
2012 Them And Us Mark Boggis Dad RBA Productions/Procurator Fiscal
Love Hate Crime Mark Boggis Father Procurator Fiscals Office
2013 Mad Mitch Kolin Ferguson Robber DeMure Media
Mad Mitch Kolin Ferguson Micheal/Born Again Christian DeMure Media
2014 The Graduates Sean Paul Wilkie Policeman Trifecta Productions

Awards

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Year Nominated Work Awards Category Result
2022 Autumn Never Dies Scotland International Festival of Cinema [14] Best Ensemble Cast in a Featurette
(Shared with All Cast)
Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Blink Cast Biographies
  2. ^ John Gaffney Star Now Biography
  3. ^ Chris Clements, "Independent TV pilot about Glasgow gangs has not found a buyer", The Daily Record, 14 July 2011
  4. ^ "Glasgow Film Festival Schedule". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. ^ 2014 Amsterdam Film Festival
  6. ^ British Film Council Listing
  7. ^ Broken Record Review
  8. ^ ScreenRelish review of Broken Record[usurped]
  9. ^ Loch Ness Film Festival Official Selection Archived 15 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Portobello Film Festival Official Selection" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  11. ^ Movies Scramble: An Interview with Chris Quick Part 1
  12. ^ Electric Faces Cast & Crew
  13. ^ John Gaffney Spotlight Profile
  14. ^ SIFC Announcement
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