Gavin O'Connor

GAVIN O'CONNOR

Date of Birth: December 24, 1963

A native of Long Island, New York, Gavin O'Connor wanted to be a filmmaker since he was a small boy. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began his career as the writer and producer of the short film The Bet (1992), directed by Ted Demme. Gavin then wrote, produced and directed the award-winning short American Standoff (1994) before making his feature film directorial debut with Comfortably Numb (1995). Although it screened at Cannes, the film generated no interest from studios and was shelved.

Gavin turned to the stage, directing an off-off Broadway play called Rumblings of a Romance before returning to film with Tumbleweeds (1999). He co-wrote the script with his wife, model/actress Angela Shelton, based on her childhood experiences. O'Connor not only directed and executive-produced, but played the lead actress's (Janet McTeer) hot-tempered trucker boyfriend, Jack Ranson. The film was a hit, with McTeer receiving Golden Globe and Oscar nominations and Gavin winning the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Festival.

Following the success of Tumbleweeds, Gavin formed the company Solaris with his brother Greg. In 2001, Solaris made Murphy's Dozen, a pilot for the WB network written and directed by Gavin. He next directed the feature Miracle, written by Eric Guggenheim. Based on the true-life story of the US hockey team's gold medal-winning efforts at the 1980 Olympics, the film starred Kurt Russell. His most recent projects include the sports drama Warrior (2011) starring Tom Hardy, the western Jane Got a Gun (2016) starring Natalie Portman, and the crime thriller The Accountant (2016) starring Ben Affleck.

He reunited with Affleck in his following film, Torrance (2019), a sports drama about a former basketball star struggling with addiction and trying to make it as a coach.

Gavinm who makes his home in Los Angeles, married actress Brooke Burns in 2013. They have a daughter, born in 2016, named Declan. In the mid-1990s, he was briefly married to Angela Shelton.

Filmography:

The Accountant (2016)
Jane Got a Gun (2016)
Warrior (2011)
Born to Rock (2009)
Pride and Glory (2008)
Miracle (2004)
Tumbleweeds (1999)