David Cale

Known for

Acting

Birthplace

Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK

David Cale (born David Egleton, c. 1958–1959, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) is an English-American performance artist, playwright, songwriter, and actor based in New York City. He grew up in a working-class family in Luton, an industrial town with the highest crime rate in the country at the time, and left England at age 20 to move to New York City in 1979. He made his solo stage debut in 1986 with The Redthroats at PS 122, which won a Bessie Award, and has since created over ten acclaimed solo works including Lillian (Obie Award), Deep in a Dream of You (Bessie Award), Palomino (San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Award), Harry Clarke (Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show, starring Billy Crudup), and the solo musical memoir We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time (2019 Jeff Award for Best New Musical, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, Drama Desk Award nomination). He is also a songwriter, with songs performed by Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, and Jimmy Scott. He was the first recipient of the Sun Valley Playwright's Residency, living and working in Ernest Hemingway's home in Ketchum, Idaho. His acting filmography spans over 20 productions across film and television. Notable film credits include Radio Days (1987, his screen debut, as the Director), Moon Over Parador (1988), Men Don't Leave (1990), He Said, She Said (1991), Beethoven (1992), Pollock (2000), The Slaughter Rule (2002, as Floyd Duffner, with Ryan Gosling), Two Lovers (2008, as Jeweler, with Joaquin Phoenix), Coming Up Roses (2011, as Joe, with Bernadette Peters), Winter in the Blood (2013, as Bad Suit), James White (2015, as Grief Counselor), True Story (2015, as Middle-Aged Man), Vox Lux (2018, as Laser Director, with Natalie Portman), Private Life (2018, as David, with Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn), Light From Light (2019, as Father Martin), and The Testament of Ann Lee (2025, as John Hocknell). On television he has appeared in the Law & Order franchise (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge George Wheeler, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent), The Good Wife (2015, as Dr. Nigel Buggy), The Blacklist (2015, as Lucius Kuhlmann), and The Characters (2016, as Robert).