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IMDbPro

James Spader

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 500138
James Spader
A new FBI profiler, Elizabeth Keen, has her entire life uprooted when a mysterious criminal, Raymond Reddington, who has eluded capture for decades, turns himself in and insists on speaking only to her.
Play trailer1:01
The Blacklist (2013–2023)
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
James Todd Spader was born on February 7, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of teachers Jean (Fraser) and Stoddard Greenwood "Todd" Spader. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover with director Peter Sellars; he dropped out in eleventh grade. He bused tables, shoveled manure, and taught yoga before landing his first roles. Spader's first major film role was as Brooke Shields' brother in the romance drama Endless Love (1981). Spader graduated from television movies to Brat Pack films, playing the scoundrel. In Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), he played a sexual voyeur who complicates the lives of three Baton Rouge residents. This performance earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival and led to bigger and more varied roles. His best known role is the colorful attorney Alan Shore on the David E. Kelley television series The Practice (1997) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004).

He won 3 prime time Emmy Awards in the Best Actor, Drama category for playing the same character Alan Shore in two different television series 'The Practice' and 'Boston Legal' out of the 4 nominations he received for the same between the years 2004-2008. He also received a Golden Globe and several Screen Actor Guild Award Best Actor nominations for reprising this role.
BornFebruary 7, 1960
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornFebruary 7, 1960
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 500138
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 3 Primetime Emmys

Superhero Stars Before They Took Flight

Superhero Stars Before They Took Flight

Check out some of our favorite superhero stars from movies and television, before they suited up.
See the entire gallery
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Photos

Photos834

Brooke Shields, James Spader, and Martin Hewitt in Endless Love (1981)
James Spader in Crash (1996)
James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger in Crash (1996)
Molly Ringwald and James Spader in Pretty in Pink (1986)
James Spader and K. Todd Freeman in The Blacklist (2013)
James Spader and Stacy Keach in The Blacklist (2013)
James Spader in The Blacklist (2013)
James Spader in The Pentagon Papers (2003)
James Spader in The Pentagon Papers (2003)
James Spader and Lake Bell in Boston Legal (2004)
James Spader in Lincoln (2012)
James Spader and Walton Goggins in Lincoln (2012)

Known for

The Blacklist (2013)
The Blacklist
8.0
TV Series
  • Raymond 'Red' Reddington
Candice Bergen, William Shatner, and James Spader in Boston Legal (2004)
Boston Legal
8.5
TV Series
  • Alan Shore
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
7.2
  • Graham
  • 1989
Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, Paul Bettany, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Chris Hemsworth in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron
7.3
  • Ultron
  • 2015

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Blacklist (2013)
    The Blacklist
  • Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, Paul Bettany, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Chris Hemsworth in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
    Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in The Homesman (2014)
    The Homesman
  • Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)
    Lincoln
  • Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and B.J. Novak in The Office (2005)
    The Office
  • Candice Bergen, William Shatner, and James Spader in Boston Legal (2004)
    Boston Legal
  • William H. Macy, James Spader, Jon Cryer, Leslie Mann, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Devon Gearhart, Jimmy Bennett, Leo Howard, Rebel Rodriguez, Jolie Vanier, and Jake Short in The Notebook II (2008)
    The Notebook II
  • James Spader, Aidan Quinn, and Matthew Davis in Shadow of Fear (2004)
    Shadow of Fear
  • The Practice (1997)
    The Practice
  • Alien Hunter (2003)
    Alien Hunter
  • I Witness (2003)
    I Witness
  • James Spader in The Pentagon Papers (2003)
    The Pentagon Papers
  • The Stick Up (2002)
    The Stick Up
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary (2002)
    Secretary
  • Bill Murray, James Spader, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Catherine O'Hara in Speaking of Sex (2001)
    Speaking of Sex

Producer

  • The Blacklist (2013)
    The Blacklist

Soundtrack

  • Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and B.J. Novak in The Office (2005)
    The Office

Videos282

James Spader | Career Retrospective
Clip 1:51
James Spader | Career Retrospective
First Clip
Clip 1:36
First Clip
Lincoln
Clip 0:54
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:38
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:46
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:35
Lincoln
Shorts
Clip 0:45
Shorts
Shorts
Clip 0:50
Shorts
Shorts
Clip 0:52
Shorts
Shorts
Clip 0:34
Shorts
Shorts
Clip 1:09
Shorts
Shorts
Clip 1:03
Shorts

Personal details

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    • February 7, 1960
    • Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • Victoria Spader1987 - 2004 (divorced, 2 children)
    • Sebastian Spader
  • Other works
    Read the audio version of Dean R. Koontz's "Strange Highways".
  • Publicity listings
    • 10 Interviews
    • 9 Articles
    • 3 Pictorials
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Has an eidetic memory. He can look at a script and he remembers what the pages look like. As he films a scene, he "reads" the page. The only reason he screws up a line is if very similar words (e.g. "it" and "is") are written fairly close together.
  • Quotes
    If I don't need the money, I don't work. I don't mind going to somebody and saying, "Okay, this is how much money I need to pay my bills for the next six months. If you pay me that, I'll do the film.".
    • Rich smooth voice with slow long drawl
    • Secretary
      (2002)
      $400,000 + gross points

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