Life and career

Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Mark an actor and stage director, and Barbara Gordon. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James Earl Jones in a Broadway production of Of Mice and Men. As an actor, Gordon's first feature film was in the 1978 sequel film Jaws 2, as the class clown Doug, then his 1979 turn as the young protagonist Joe Gideon in All That Jazz. His film credits include the 1980 erotic thriller Dressed to Kill, the 1983 horror film Christine (in the role of Arnie Cunningham, the teen who buys Christine and falls under the car's influence), the 1985 cult film The Legend of Billie Jean as Lloyd Muldaur, the son of a District Attorney who aspires to be Attorney General, the 1986 Mark Romanek classic Static (for which he wrote the screenplay), and the 1986 comedy movie Back to School, as Jason Melon. In these movies he is most known for playing a nerd. He was named number 1 in Cinematicals' Top 7 Most Convincing Nerds. His most recent onscreen film appearance was in 2001, in the movie Delivering Milo.

Gordon left acting for directing, making his debut in 1988 with the movie The Chocolate War, about a student who rebels against the rigid hierarchies in his Catholic school. His other films include the 1992 anti-war film A Midnight Clear, about a group of American soldiers in the Ardennes just before and during the Battle of the Bulge, as well as Mother Night (adapted from the novel by Kurt Vonnegut), Waking the Dead, and the 2003 Robert Downey Jr. film The Singing Detective. He also directed some of the mini-series Wild Palms and appeared in the 2006 Iraq War documentary Whose War?. His directing credits for television include Homicide: Life on the Street, Gideon's Crossing, Dexter, The Bridge, House and the second season of Fargo.

Filmography

Title	Year	Role
Fargo	2015	Director (episodes "Did you do this? No, you did it!", "Loplop")
The Strain	2014	Director (episode "It's Not for Everyone")
The Leftovers	2014-2015	Director (episodes "Two Boats and a Helicopter", "Ten Thirteen")
The Killing	2011-2012	Director (episodes Beau Soleil, Donnie or Marie)
Rubicon	2010	Director (episode In Whom We Trust)
Dexter	2006-2010	Director (episodes Truth Be Told, The Dark Defender, Morning Comes, Our Father, All In The Family, Do You Take Dexter Morgan, Dirty Harry, Lost Boys, In The Beginning)/Actor (Kyle Butler #2, episode Hello, Dexter Morgan)
House M.D.	2005	Director (episode Sports Medicine)
The Singing Detective	2003	Director
Night Visions	2002	Director (episode Patterns)
Shadow Realm	2002	Director (segment Patterns)
Delivering Milo	2001	Actor (Mr. Baumgartner)
Waking the Dead	2000	Director/Producer
The Player	1997	Actor (unknown role)
Mother Night	1996	Director/Producer
Fallen Angels	1995	Director (episode The Black Bargain)
I Love Trouble	1994	Actor (Andy)
Homicide: Life on the Street	1994	Director (episode Extreme Unction)
Wild Palms	1993	Director (episodes Hungry Ghosts, The Floating World)
Brooklyn Bridge	1993	Actor (Cousin Herbie, episode The Wild Pitch)
A Midnight Clear	1992	Director/Writer
WIOU	1990	Actor (George Lewis, episodes Do The Wrong Thing, Mother Nature's Son)
Miami Vice	1989	Actor (Prof. Terrence Baines, episode Leap Of Faith)
The Chocolate War	1988	Director/Writer
Combat Academy	1986	Actor (Max Mendelsson)
Back To School	1986	Actor (Jason Melon)
Static	1985	Actor (Ernie Blick)
The Legend of Billie Jean	1985	Actor (Lloyd Muldaur)
Single Bars, Single Women	1984	Actor (Lionel)
Christine	1983	Actor (Arnie Cunningham)
American Playhouse	1982	Actor (episode My Palikari)
Kent State	1981	Actor (Jeff Miller)
Dressed To Kill	1980	Actor (Peter Miller)
Home Movies	1980	Actor (Dennis Byrd)
All That Jazz	1979	Actor (Young Joe)
Studs Lonigan	1979	Actor (Young Paulie)
Meeting Halfway	1979	Actor (unknown role)
Jaws 2	1978	Actor (Doug Fetterman)
Medical Center	1975	Actor (Herbie, episode The Price Of A Child)

Award nominations

Independent Spirit Awards

• Best Screenplay - A Midnight Clear (1992)
• Best First Feature - The Chocolate War (1988)

Catalonian International Film Festival

• Best Film - The Singing Detective (2003)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]