
David Brandon
Actor · Born December 13, 1951 (74) · Cork, County Cork, Ireland
Born "David Cain Haughton" in Cork, Ireland. After graduating from Cambridge he worked in London with a theatre group he had formed at university. In late 1973 he began to take part in Lindsay Kemp's classes at London's Dance Centre, and within a few months became part of the cast of the first London performance of "Flowers", at the Bush Theatre, where he played the Archangel Gabriel. He thus joined Kemp and his company just at the point where, over a few months, the sudden flight upwards to success began. As the Company began its international touring he also increasingly started to collaborate with Kemp on company organisation and artistic direction. For 10 years he continued full-time collaboration, performing in all productions and also working with Kemp on the conception, dramaturgy and direction of all new shows, and on the running of the company. He was at various time Kemp's collaborator and companion, a performer, director's assistant, dramaturge and writer, Co-Director and organizer of the Lindsay Kemp Company. Since 2002, he has been responsible for the lighting design of all Kemp's projects. From 1982 - although always returning to collaborate on all Kemp's new productions, including those not involving the Kemp Company (e.g. dance or opera productions) - he began also working on his own projects, settling in Paris (where he worked for a time with Maguy Marin) and in Rome. In Italy, he established himself as a film actor, avoiding problems with his complicated surname by adopting the stage name David Brandon. Under this name, from 1982 until today he has appeared in leading or supporting roles in roughly 100 Italian or international films. At the same time, he began directing, designing and lighting Italian theatre productions... among them, three adaptations of Shakespeare for the Viterbo Festival; versions of The Bacchae, Waiting for Godot and his own text, Rehearsing Freedom, all with inmates of Rome's Rebibbia prison; three prize-winning plays written by Maurizio Donadoni; and four musicals adapted and directed for Rome's Teatro Nazionale, produced by the Teatro dell'Opera. In 2012, for the theatres of Livorno, Pisa and Lucca, he directed the Brecht-Weill Threepenny Opera. He also has worked and still works frequently as a voice artist, dubbing or voice-overing, and as a writer; publishing two books of poetry, two librettos for contemporary operas composed by Maurizio Squillante, two books on the life and art of Lindsay Kemp and abundant communication material on Kemp and his creations. He is also a prolific translator.
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Biography from IMDb.
- December 13, 1951 (74)
- Cork, County Cork, Ireland
- Actor
- 18 on MovieCove · 51 credits in all
Known for
What are David Brandon's films like?
Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 7
Light 2 · Serious 6 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 5
Gentle 2 · Charged 5 · Intense 4
Steady 1 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 2
Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 2 of 5 analyzed roles.
- Shadowas Caligula in The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)
- Shadowas Zor in The Blade Master (1983)
- Threshold guardianas Peter in StageFright (1987)
- Allyas Father George in Beyond Darkness (1990)
- Threshold guardianas Mr. Brooks in Neverlake (2013)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch David Brandon's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).
Subscription and free streaming for David Brandon's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
51 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.

Blind, Deaf, Dumb (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

Non aprite quella bara (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

Ricordi?(2018)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Name of the Rose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

Christman in London - God Save the Queen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

Medici(2016)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Neverlake(2013)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all filmsLa Strada Di Paolo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

Cinderella (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

Rino Gaetano - Ma il cielo è sempre più blu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

Rino Gaetano - Ma il cielo è sempre più blu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

Police District (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

Ma Shamal - Ritorno al deserto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

La signora della città (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

The Maharaja's Daughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

Olga O's Strange Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

18.000 giorni fa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Due vite, un destino(1993)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Mean Tricks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

A Bear Called Arthur (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Il vizio infinito (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

The Invisible Wall(1991)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Hunt for the Golden Scorpion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

Beyond Kilimanjaro, Across the River of Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

Beyond Darkness(1990)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all filmsThe Room of Words (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

Casablanca Express (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

Musica per vecchi animali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

Modì (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

A Double Victory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

The Prince of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

Until Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

The Invisible Ones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

High Frequency (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

Good Morning Babylon(1987)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Delirium(1987)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Eleven Days, Eleven Nights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

StageFright(1987)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Warrior Queen(1987)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
The Assisi Underground(1985)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
A.D. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

The Naked Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

She(1984)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
La bella Otero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

The Blade Master(1983)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Malamore(1982)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Jubilee(1978)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 95th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 51 titles from 1966 to 2024; peak year 1986.
Film career
Peak 1986 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 4 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1978Screen debut· Jubilee
- 1982First top-billed film· Caligula: The Untold Story
- 1987Career best· Stage Fright
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do David Brandon's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 24th percentile, the median of all 17; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 20th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th9
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 18 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned2
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed10
Reviewers score the acting 42/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles; fans 60, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is David Brandon's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does David Brandon work with?
People who share at least 2 of David Brandon's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joe D'Amato shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Joe D'AmatoShared titles: Beyond Darkness (1990), StageFright (1987), Warrior Queen (1987), The Blade Master (1983), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 5 shared titles with Joe D'Amato

Writers
- George EastmanShared titles: Delirium (1987), StageFright (1987), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 3 shared titles with George Eastman

Actors
- Serena GrandiShared titles: Delirium (1987), Malamore (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Serena Grandi

- Charles BorromelShared titles: The Blade Master (1983), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Borromel

- Laura GemserShared titles: The Blade Master (1983), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Laura Gemser

Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Carlo Maria CordioShared titles: Beyond Darkness (1990), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Carlo Maria Cordio
- Rosanna LandiShared titles: Beyond Darkness (1990), StageFright (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Rosanna Landi
- Gianlorenzo BattagliaShared titles: Delirium (1987), Warrior Queen (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Gianlorenzo Battaglia
- Simon BoswellShared titles: Delirium (1987), StageFright (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Simon Boswell

Producers
- Donatella DonatiShared titles: StageFright (1987), Warrior Queen (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Donatella Donati
- Alex SusmannShared titles: The Blade Master (1983), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Susmann
Mixed roles
- Michele SoaviShared titles: StageFright (1987), The Emperor Caligula: 'The Untold Story' (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Michele Soavi





