David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In… David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In April 2014, he portrayed comedian Tommy Cooper in a television film entitled Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This. In 2014, he starred alongside Jude Law in the thriller Black Sea. In 2024 he played Paul Peveril in the six-part BBC drama Nightsleeper.
For his role in Nicholas Nickleby, he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1980, which was followed by a second nomination in the Best Actor category in 2006 for Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. His role in Paradise Postponed (1986) earned Threlfall a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. In 2022, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in the Martin McDonagh play Hangmen.
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