David Threlfall Movies and Career Information

David Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show. The son of a plumber, Tommy Threlfall and his wife, he was born in Manchester. His introduction to drama came from school and two English teachers, at Wilbraham High School, where he was a contemporary of the younger Lorraine Ashbourne. Encouragement from those teachers led to him playing the male lead in a four performance school production of Ann Jellicoe's "Rising Generation" in 1971. December that year saw him playing John Proctor in a school production of The Crucible and then to his getting involved with Manchester Youth Theatre. He went to art college in Sheffield but only stayed for a year. A few months of labouring and thinking followed. Then, having consulted a magazine in a public library which listed drama colleges, Threlfall successfully applied to Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama. By graduation, he had an audition with Mike Leigh. Threlfall has been a keen supporter of Manchester City since childhood. Threlfall graduated