Denise Gough (born 28 February 1980)[1] is an Irish actress. 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.

Denise Gough
Gough in 2022
Born (1980-02-28) 28 February 1980 (age 44)[1]
EducationALRA
OccupationActress
RelativesKelly Gough (sister)

On television, she is 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).

Early life edit

Born in Wexford and raised in Ennis, County Clare, daughter of an electrician, Gough is the seventh of eleven siblings.[2] One of her younger sisters is the actress Kelly Gough.[3] She trained as a soprano before leaving Ireland for London at 15.[4] She was awarded a grant to study at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in Wandsworth aged 18,[2] and graduated from ALRA in 2003.

Theatre edit

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.[5] In January 2014 she was Julia in The Duchess of Malfi, the inaugural production at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London.[6] 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.[7] 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.[4][8]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007 Outlanders Barmaid
2010 The Kid Patsy
Robin Hood Village Mother
2014 The Quiet Roar Research Assistant
Jimmy's Hall Tess
2018 Juliet, Naked Gina
Colette Mathilde de Morny [9]
2019 The Kid Who Would Be King Mary
The Other Lamb Sarah
2020 Vores mand i Amerika Charlotte Kauffmann
Monday Chloe
2021 Martyrs Lane Sarah

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
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"
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
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
The Fall Dr Alison Walden 2 episodes
2017 Guerrilla Fallon 6 episodes
Paula Paula 3 episodes
2021 Too Close Connie Mortensen Miniseries, 3 episodes
2022 Under the Banner of Heaven Dianna Lafferty Miniseries; Main role
Andor Dedra Meero Main role, 9 episodes [10]
2023 Who Is Erin Carter? Lena Main role, 6 episodes

Video games edit

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

Stage roles edit

Year Title Character Theatre Ref.
2004 By the Bog of Cats Caroline Cassidy Wyndham's Theatre
London, England
The Kindness of Strangers Cheryl Liverpool Everyman
Liverpool, England
2006 Everything is Illuminated Brod Hampstead Theatre
London, England
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
Six Characters in Search of an Author Stepdaughter Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester, England
Gielgud Theatre
London, England
2009 The Birds Julia Gate Theatre
Dublin, Ireland
2010 The Plough and the Stars Nora Clitheroe Abbey Theatre
Dublin, Ireland
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
Desire Under the Elms Anna Putnam Lyric Hammersmith
London, England
2014 Adler and Gibb Louise Royal Court Theatre
London, England
[11]
The Duchess of Malfi Julia Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
London, England
2015 People, Places and Things Emma Dorfman Theatre
National Theatre
London, England
2016 Wyndham's Theatre
London, England
2017 Angels in America Harper Pitt Lyttleton Theatre
National Theatre
London, England
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 edit

Year Award Category Work Result Ref(s)
2015 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Actress People, Places and Things Nominated [12][13]
Critics' Circle Theatre Award Best Actress Won [14]
2016 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actress Won [15]
WhatsOnStage Award Best Actress in a Play Nominated [16]
2018 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Play Nominated [17]
Obie Award Performance Won [18]
Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Play Angels in America Nominated [19]
Laurence Olivier Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role Won [20]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Nominated [21]
Theatre World Award Honouree [22]
2022 Peabody Award Entertainment Andor Won [23]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Jay Taylor on Instagram: "I usually only post pictures of her looking weird or crazy, but as it's her birthday I think we can allow one of her looking just 👌🏽Happy…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Bright young things". Evening Standard. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Twins' kitchen sync drama". Irish Independent. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b Clapp, Susannah (19 November 2017). "Denise Gough: the extraordinarily gifted actress on being the toast of New York". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. ^ "London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 – Longlist revealed". Evening Standard. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  6. ^ Coveney, Michael (16 January 2014). "The Duchess of Malfi (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)". What's On Stage. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. ^ Clapp, Sussannah (6 September 2015). "People, Places & Things review — a career-changing performance". The Observer. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  8. ^ Emmrich, Stuart (3 May 2018). "Actress Denise Gough Pays Homage to Bygone Angels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  9. ^ Orlova-Alvarez, Tamara; Alvarez, Joe (6 October 2018). "Denise Gough on Toxic and Progressive Masculinity at Toronto Film Festival". Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  10. ^ Crossan, Ash (24 August 2022). "Denise Gough & Kyle Soller Interview: Andor". ScreenRant. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  11. ^ Billington, Michael (20 June 2014). "Adler and Gibb review – a high-concept satire on the cult of the artist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards: Full list of nominees". Evening Standard. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards: Who won and why". Evening Standard. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  14. ^ "2015 Results". Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Olivier Winners 2016". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Whatsonstage Awards – Winners 2016". West End Theatre. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  17. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (3 June 2018). "SpongeBob SquarePants & More Win 2018 Drama Desk Awards". Broadway. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  18. ^ "2018 Obies Winners and Performances". Obie Awards. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  19. ^ Nyren, Erin (11 June 2018). "Tony Award Winners 2018: The Complete List". Variety. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Olivier Awards 2018: Winners in full". BBC News. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  21. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (7 May 2018). "SpongeBob SquarePants, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, My Fair Lady & More Win 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Broadway. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  22. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (8 May 2018). "Bravo! Winners Announced for the 2018 Theatre World Awards". Broadway. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  23. ^ Voyles, Blake (13 September 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Winners". Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links edit