Skip to content
MovieCove
Dave Johns

Dave Johns

Actor · Born January 1, 1955 (71) · Wallsend, England, UK

Dave Johns is an actor, stand up comedian and talented improviser who played the lead role in Ken Loach's feature film 'I, Daniel Blake' which won the 2016 Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. He is a regular guest with the Comedy Store Players on their improv show in London's West End. He had toured with Johnny Vegas and Sean Lock and has performed at the Montreal, Kilkenny, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Adelaide comedy festivals. He has appeared on The West End stage in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest', starring Christian Slater, has co-written the stage adaption of Stephen King's 'The Shawshank Redemption' and has appeared on TV comedy panel shows 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' and '8 Out Of 10 Cats'. - IMDb Mini Biography By: DAA Management

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1955 (71)
From
Wallsend, England, UK
Works as
Actor
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 3% in 30 days

What are Dave Johns' films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
34%
Society
24%
Self
18%
Survival
15%
Ideas
6%
Morality
3%
Community4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 3 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 6 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 2

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

7 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 3 of 7 analyzed roles.

Hero
3 of 7
Mentor
1 of 7
Threshold guardian
1 of 7
Trickster
1 of 7
Ally
1 of 7
Show the 7 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
6
Hopeful
5
Tense
4
Melancholic
4
Bittersweet
2
Other
8

How their films linger

Hopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous1

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 Dave Johns' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Dave Johns' 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

17 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    as Mr. Formby

  • Turtles(2023)

    as Thom Halford

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Where It Ends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Tony

  • Making Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Actor

  • Fisherman's Friends: One and All(2022)

    as Leadville

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Larkins(2021)

    Show 1 episode · as Margate Porter

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • Whitstable Pearl(2021)

    Show 1 episode · as Phil Nevin

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows

  • Blithe Spirit(2020)

    as Harold

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Ravers(2018)

    as Manager

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • 23 Walks(2020)

    as Dave

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Fisherman's Friends(2019)

    as Leadville

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Keeper(2018)

    as Roberts

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Two Graves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as George

  • Walk Like a Panther(2018)

    as Trevor 'Bulldog' Johns

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • I, Daniel Blake(2016)

    as Dan

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • It's Kevin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Show 1 episode · as Various

  • Mud (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 5 episodes · as Trev

Career shape

Star power in the 91st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 1994 to 2024; peak year 2016.

Biggest box office

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

$16M worldwide

Highest rated

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

Midcredits 97th

Film career

19942024

Peak 2016 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. 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.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting17 of 17: 17 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score54th

By decade

1990s1 · acting2010s6 · acting2020s9 · acting

Billing

usually 5th · top billed in 20% of 5 roles

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.

How do Dave Johns' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 57th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Approval · how many liked their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Reach · how many have seen their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

Ravers (2018)

60th percentile spread · 47% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

Midcredits 97th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the acting 64/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 39. 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 Dave Johns' work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 9 · minimalMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles16–26 · median 23 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 61 · intenseMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 30 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 36 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

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 Dave Johns work with?

People who share at least 2 of Dave Johns' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Meg Leonard shares the most, 3.

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles