Draft:Lawrence Gordon (Saw)

• Comment: No out of universe reception or analysis to illustrate how the character is independently notable of the primary subject. Please expand the article's content with this kind of information. Magneton Considerer: Pokelego999 (Talk) (Contribs) 17:40, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: most of the reception is on the acting, which i don't think helps the notability of the fictional character, and is further mostly piecemeal assembled from the movie reviews. also needs to be heavily copyedited, many grammar errors. PARAKANYAA (talk) 06:05, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: This draft is a draft on a subtopic of an existing article, List of Saw characters. Discussion as to whether a separate article for the subtopic is warranted should be on the talk page of the parent article, Talk:List of Saw characters.
  Please discuss the suitability of creating a separate subtopic article on the talk page of the parent article. Please resubmit this draft if there is rough consensus at the parent talk page to create the child article, or with an explanation that the child draft satisfies either general notability on its own or a special notability guide. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:01, 26 July 2024 (UTC)

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For the producer, see Lawrence Gordon (producer).

Lawrence Gordon
Saw character
First appearance	Saw (2004)
Last appearance	Saw 3D (2010)
Created by	James Wan Leigh Whannell
Portrayed by	Cary Elwes
Voiced by	Stan Kirsch (Saw: Rebirth)
In-universe information
Full name	Lawrence Gordon
Nickname	Larry
Spouse	Alison Gordon (wife)
Children	Diana Gordon (daughter)
Origin	Saw (2004)
Occupation	Oncologist
Association(s)	John Kramer (mentor; deceased) Amanda Young (fellow apprentice; deceased) Mark Hoffman (fellow apprentice; deceased) Zep Hindle (colleague; deceased)
Status	Alive

Dr. Lawrence Gordon is a fictional character created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell in the Saw franchise. He first appears in the original Saw film released in 2004 as the main character alongside Adam Stanheight. Portrayed by Cary Elwes, Lawrence is introduced in Saw as a oncologist who one of these patients was John Kramer, diagnosed with colon cancer and one has been abducted by him and placed in a trap with Adam. He later returns in Saw 3D, where it is revealed that he has become one of Jigsaw's secret apprentices.

Before one of the apprentice to Jigsaw Killer, he is placed in a gruesome game, chained by his ankle in a dilapidated bathroom, with the objective of escaping by either killing his cellmate, Adam, to save his family. Unlike many other victims, Lawrence survives his ordeal and he maintains a certain moral compass, adhering to Jigsaw's original philosophy of providing victims with a chance to survive if they prove their will to live.

After a legal battle with production company Evolution Entertainment over insufficient payment Elwes was promised of the profits made from Saw in 2005, Elwes would eventually return to the series in the finale Saw 3D (2010), where it would be shown that Lawrence had in fact survived the events of the first Saw film and had been recruited as a Jigsaw apprentice, assisting him in setting up traps throughout the capacity of Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV and Saw V.

Elwes was nominated for a MTV Movie Award in the category for "Best Frightened Performance" for his portrayal as Lawrence Gordon, in the 2005 edition of the awards show, the last scene in Saw was particularly memorable.

Fictional character biography

Saw

Lawrence Gordon first appears in the 2004 film Saw as an oncologist who once treated civil engineer John Kramer (Tobin Bell), diagnosing him with terminal cancer. During his routine work, he interacts with hospital orderly Zep Hindle (Michael Emerson) and unknowingly becomes a subject of suspicion in the Jigsaw case. Detectives David Tapp (Danny Glover) and Steven Sing (Ken Leung) interrogate him after finding his fingerprints on a penlight left at the scene of a Jigsaw trap. While Lawrence denies involvement, Tapp grows suspicious and begins secretly surveilling him, hiring photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) to follow him.

Later, Lawrence awakens in a dilapidated bathroom, chained by the ankle alongside Adam. A corpse lies between them, holding a tape recorder. Both men find cassette tapes in their pockets, revealing they are players in a deadly game orchestrated by Jigsaw. Lawrence is instructed to kill Adam before 6:00 AM, or his wife, Alison (Monica Potter), and daughter, Diana (Makenzie Vega), will die. Clues in the room lead them to hacksaws, but they discover the saws are meant to cut through flesh, not their chains.

As time runs out, Lawrence grows increasingly desperate. After a call from his wife confirms her captivity, he saws off his foot to escape the shackle, shoots Adam with a revolver, and crawls out of the room to find help. Shortly after, Adam kills Zep, who had entered the bathroom intending to kill Lawrence for failing his test. However, the twist reveals that Jigsaw was the "corpse" in the room all along, and he seals Adam inside, leaving him to die.

Full Disclosure Report

Lawrence's disappearance is covered in the mockumentary short film Full Disclosure Report, which is an in-universe documentary that focuses on Jigsaw's games that takes place after Saw and before Saw II. Alison Gordon refused to be interviewed, but friends and neighbors did accept interviews, in which they revealed details about Alison's captivity and her telephone conversations with Lawrence during that time. They also dismissed the rumours that Lawrence was Jigsaw, stating that he wasn't the type of person to put his own family's lives in danger. One of Lawrence's colleagues was also interviewed, talking about Lawrence devotion to his job and that he likely spent more time at the hospital than he did at home with his family.

Saw III

Beginning with Saw II up until Saw VI, the films never reveal Lawrence's fate after crawling out of the bathroom. In a flashback scene, Lawrence's name can be seen outside his office door. Near the end of the film, where Amanda Young and Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen) discover the bathroom, Lawrence's decaying severed foot can be seen along with that of Adam and Zep's corpse, revealing that he did not return to Adam as promised. Archived audio from Saw of Lawrence is also heard as well.

Saw IV

In Saw IV, Detective Fisk (Mike Realba) notes that "another doctor" had disappeared from the same hospital that Lynn Denlon was abducted from. Fisk is likely referring to Lawrence, who went missing before Lynn did. The same flashback from Saw II where Lawrence's name is shown outside his office door appears in this film as well.

Saw V

In Saw V, Lawrence's name is shown amongst others during the scene where Special Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) browses through FBI documents of potential Jigsaw victims. It is also revealed in a flashback that Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) was responsible for planting Lawrence's penlight at the location of one of Jigsaw's games, taking the suspicion away from him and John.

Saw VI

In a flashback in Saw VI that happens before the first Saw film, John has a conversation with insurance executive William Easton (Peter Outerbridge), Lawrence is mentioned by name.

Saw 3D

Lawrence Gordon reappears in Saw 3D. After escaping the bathroom, he crawled through a series of underground hallways and used a steaming hot pipe to cauterize his amputated foot. Overwhelmed by pain, he passed out but was later found by John Kramer (Tobin Bell), who dragged him away, nursed him back to health, and fitted him with a prosthetic foot.

Lawrence is next seen attending a Jigsaw survivor group meeting, where he meets Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery), a self-proclaimed survivor who gained fame and recognition for publishing a book detailing his alleged escape from one of Jigsaw's traps. Unknown to most, Bobby's story is fabricated, a fact that Lawrence subtly mocks during the meeting. Shortly after, Bobby is abducted by Mark Hoffman and subjected to a real Jigsaw test involving the other members of the survivor group.

"Hello, Dr. Gordon. You are perhaps my greatest asset. Without you, my work over the last few years would not have been possible. That having been said, I have a request. Watch over Jill, and should anything happen to her, I want you to act immediately on my behalf. In return for that, I will keep no more secrets from you. I've showed you a lot of places, but there is one that will be perhaps the most meaningful to you."

— Lawrence's video message left by John Kramer in Saw 3D

After Hoffman's murder of John's wife, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Lawrence intervenes on John's behalf. Along with two accomplices in pig masks, he ambushes Hoffman outside his hideout. Flashbacks reveal that Lawrence had been recruited by John as an apprentice following his recovery, though Hoffman and Amanda were unaware of this arrangement. Jill, however, knew of Lawrence's involvement and sent him a package containing a videotape recorded by John before his death. The tape instructed Lawrence to protect Jill and to act immediately if anything happened to her.

The flashbacks also show Lawrence’s role in preparing earlier traps. He surgically placed the key behind Michael Marks' eye in Saw II, selected Lynn Denlon as John's surgeon in Saw III, sewed Art Blank’s mouth and Trevor’s eyes shut for their trap in Saw IV, and sent an anonymous note to Hoffman in Saw V exposing his identity.

After capturing Hoffman, Lawrence takes him to the same bathroom where he was once tested. Hoffman awakens chained to the pipe near Adam's decayed remains and tries to reach the hacksaw Lawrence had used years earlier. However, Lawrence sarcastically remarks, "I don't think so," and throws the saw out of reach. Ignoring Hoffman's protests, Lawrence turns off the lights and seals the bathroom door, leaving him to die.

In other media

Saw: Rebirth

Lawrence Gordon's initial appearance in chronological order is in Saw: Rebirth, where he is depicted as the physician who diagnosed John Kramer with terminal cancer. A hospital orderly named Zep Hindle suggested to John that Lawrence was unfaithful to his wife. Saw later confirmed this by revealing that Lawrence was having an affair with his medical student, Carla. Coupled with his indifferent attitude at work and deteriorating relationship with his wife and daughter, these factors contributed to Lawrence becoming a target of John Kramer, who is now infamous as the Jigsaw Killer.

Saw: The Video Game

While Lawrence does not appear in Saw: The Video Game released in 2009, he is mentioned. In the video game, Detective Tapp from the first Saw film is nursed back to health and is forced to play one of Jigsaw's games. Throughout this game, he finds three different black boxes, which contained the reports of a doctor. Tapp spoke about another doctor, who had begun therapy at an asylum after suffering an mental breakdown. This therapy led to a significant improvement of his mental state. Besides details about his mental condition, these reports also contained information about the patient's personal life, such as the impendent birth of his child, which he was looking forward to. According to the psychological profile, the patient was a polite, highly intelligent, narcissistic and mostly emotional person, which leads to the assumption that this could be Lawrence.

Saw II: Flesh & Blood

The sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, also numerously mentions Lawrence via documents and audio files from Detective Tapp found by his son, Michael, which touch more on Tapp's obsession with Lawrence. According to Tapp, Lawrence perfectly fitted the psychological profile of the Jigsaw Killer, especially because he had suffered an emotional breakdown at an early age and therefore had to be admitted to a clinic. Besides this, Tapp's documents also contained information about Lawrence's work, revealing that he was also responsible for the diagnosis of other patients' terminal cancer, with Tapp assuming that this might have been the reason for the doctor's cold, clinical and emotionally unstable personality.

Characterization

According to Elwes, much of Lawrence's development throughout the first film was not in the script but was improvised and discussed as the film went on, stating:

"As far as his breakdown is concerned, that was not in the script. That was something that James and I worked on- we said we have to take this guy from being the paternalistic character who was trying to calm Adam down at the beginning of the film and by the end, they have swapped roles. I said to James I thought that would be an interesting dynamic if we did that, so we worked on that until there was a nice balance there. I tend to not think in terms of likability for the character. I think the grey areas are much more fascinating to play because we're all grey. No one is black and white or good or bad or happy or sad or what have you. [We all have] particular idiosyncrasies that make them fascinating and that's how I tend to approach a character. I try not to judge them because if you get into the area of judging the character you're playing you're getting into a sticky area".

The original script for Saw described Dr. Lawrence Gordon as a 46-year-old man who had the "handsome dignified face of an important white male". The first Saw film left Dr. Gordon's fate ambiguous as he is never seen again after crawling out of the bathroom. In an audio commentary special feature that consisted of Elwes, Leigh Whannell and James Wan on the Saw: Uncut Edition DVD, Whannell asked Elwes on his thoughts of Lawrence's fate, with Elwes responded with: "Let's face it, guys: he's severed his whole leg off. The loss of blood alone, even with that pathetic tourniquet he made with his shirt. It's a wrap. He's not going to get two blocks". Despite this, in a October 2004 interview to promote Saw, he stated that while he was wary of sequels, if he was presented with a script just as exciting as the first film, he would be open to reprising the role in a sequel. However, in the same interview, he had claimed that he had not yet made any money of Saw and that if the film were to gross over $100 million at the box office, he would contact his lawyer.

Due to this lawsuit, it would be several years before Elwes returned to the franchise, though the character was still referenced to and mentioned in some of the sequels albeit without confirming whether he survived the events of the first film. Fan theories of Lawrence's potential survival and possible status as a Jigsaw accomplice went back as early as Saw II (2005); this was due to the hooded person that is seen placing the key behind Michael Marks' eye in his trap is shown to be limping, leading to fans to believe this person was Lawrence as the character had sawed off his own foot during the climax of the first Saw film. Director of Saw II Darren Lynn Bousman adressed this in the DVD audio commentary for the film, he stated that he portrayed the hooded figure to add "flavor" to the performance, but did not intend for it to be Lawrence. In 2021, Leigh Whannell revealed that in the writing process for Saw III (2006), he had written an alternate version of the film which he was "really into" that had Lawrence as the main protagonist; the opening scene from Saw 3D that showed John Kramer finding Lawrence after crawling out of the bathroom was intended to be included in the opening of this script instead. The plot would still have included Amanda Young and John in prominent roles, but instead of having Dr. Lynn and Jeff Denlon, it would be Lawrence going through another test to save Alison and Diana, who had been abducted by Jigsaw and Amanda once again, but it remains unknown whether or not Elwes was asked to return for the film or if he declined in the aftermath of the lawsuit. In DVD audio commentaries for Saw IV (2007), Bousman has stated that he intended to leave the question of Lawrence's fate unanswered and let the fans make up their own minds. It was also originally planned for Lawrence to appear as a boss fight in Saw: The Video Game (2009), where he covered his face with a pig mask and fought Detective Tapp.

Elwes would return in the final film, Saw 3D (2010), which finally reveals what happened to Lawrence, with John finding him after crawling out of the bathroom and nursing him back to health and eventually recruiting Lawrence as a Jigsaw apprentice. Elwes described his character as having an element of Stockholm Syndrome. The audio commentary for Saw 3D reveals that after being released by John, Lawrence reunited with Alison and Diana but after his unstable mental condition got worse, Alison left him and took Diana with her as she was unable to cope with his mental instability. The commentary also reveals that in the original script for Saw 3D, the two pigmen who helped Lawrence capture Mark Hoffman (who were never revealed in the finished film) were supposed to be Brad and Ryan from the beginning of the film. Initially, their trap scene would have included a shot of Lawrence and John standing in the crowd, watching their game. When asked about a possible return to the Saw franchise in 2021, Elwes said "never say never" about reprising the role. However, in a 2023 interview, Elwes gave a dubious response about returning, stating: "I have no comment one way or the other about that franchise, I really can't speak to it. I'm happy for the filmmakers that they continue to make money, and that it seems to be a financial bonus for them, I really can't speak to it, because I'm not really involved anymore".

Casting

After watching the Saw short film on DVD, British actor Cary Elwes, who was known for his starring roles in The Princess Bride (1987) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), found it "riveting" and was "blown away by the fact that these guys had taken the time and effort to make this little short". He read the script in one sitting and Elwes was fascinated by the originality and uniqueness of the story that had well-rounded characters and "a message, albeit a distorted one". Upon liking the script, Elwes met up with James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who were newcomers to the film industry; Saw producer Oren Koules was Elwes' manager at the time. Elwes was ultimately cast as the Dr. Lawrence Gordon character. As Wan and Whannell were not big names at the time, Elwes said that the role required a "leap of faith" from his part, stating:

"That’s why I think the short was such a smart move. They had been trying to sell the script for a while on its own, but nobody was really biting, especially because of the issue that they were newcomers and this town (Hollywood) is not always welcoming to newcomers, unless they can prove themselves. But in this case, they weren’t asking for a lot of money and they weren’t asking for a long schedule. I think that the fact that they had shot some footage to show what we could expect from the film is what sealed the deal for everybody".

In order to help prepare for his role as Lawrence, who is described as an oncologist, Elwes visited an actual doctor at Department of Neurosurgery at the University of California, who helped him researching about his character's profession. Filming of Saw began in September 2003 and it took six days to shoot the bathroom scenes with Lawrence and Adam, and these scenes were shot in the order that they occured in order to prevent accidental continuity jumps and to help Elwes and Whannell stay in character and understand what their characters were going through. Wan made sure that Elwes' shots as Lawrence were very steady and controlled to match the character's calm and collected personality. In addition to this, the two actors were unable to rehearse any of their scenes together without disrupting the schedules of Danny Glover and Michael Emerson (respective portayers of David Tapp and Zep Hindle), who were only available for a certain number of days. According to Elwes, his dialogue averaged 12 to 16 pages a day, which he considered a great challenge. He also considered the scenes where he was chained to be challenging as well, stating the shackles caused serious lacerations to his ankle. However, despite the challenges, Elwes stated that he had a "great time" working with Wan and Whannell and would "definitely" collaborate with them again sometime in the future.

After a long absence from the franchise due to Elwes' lawsuit, by the time casting for Saw 3D came in December 2009, which was planned to be the final Saw film, Elwes finally returned and reprised his role as Lawrence. The filmmakers of the Saw franchise planned for Lawrence's character to be brought back earlier, but Elwes wanted to specifically wait until the finale. He described the character in this entry as having an element of Stockholm syndrome, and said that the filmmakers had all the input on the direction of his character, which Elwes thought was "great". He also claimed that in preparation for his return, he sat through a Saw marathon and watched all of the movies leading up to Saw 3D.

References

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Male horror film characters
• Saw (franchise) characters
• Horror film characters
• Fictional surgeons
• Fictional kidnappers
• Fictional hostages and kidnapped people
• Film characters introduced in 2004
• Fictional sole survivors
• Male film villains
• Male horror film villains
• Fictional vigilantes
• Fictional henchmen
• Fictional physicians
• Fictional amputees
• Saw (franchise)