Keith Gordon

Born: February 3 1961
Where: New York, USA

The former actor made his directorial debut with box office flop but critical success The Chocolate War.

However, he has since notched up triumphs with the World War Two drama A Midnight Clear and the critically acclaimed The Singing Detective.

As an actor, he first attracted attention as the bookish teenager who joins forces with a prostitute to trap his mother's killer in Brian De Palma's Dressed To Kill.

Prior to that, he had roles in the sequel Jaws 2 and musical showcase All That Jazz.

Roles followed in John Carpenter's Christine, The Legend of Billie Jean and the independent movie Static, which he also co-wrote.

After The Chocolate War, he adapted and directed A Midnight Clear from William Wharton's anti-war novel.

In 1997, he produced and directed Mother Night, starring Nick Nolte, and in 2000 adapted Scott Spencer's mysterious novel Waking The Dead.

After a spate of TV work, he returned to the big screen with Dennis Potter's original film adaptation of the British TV series The Singing Detective.

Upcoming projects include the murder mystery Billy Dead, starring Ethan Hawke.