James Spader's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Blacklist Raymond 'Re… Boston Legal Alan Shore The Practice Alan Shore Discovery Atlas Narator (2) The Family Tree Jake Nichols

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. His most famous television roles are those of the colorful attorney Alan Shore in The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal, for which he won three Emmy Awards, and Robert California in The Office. He currently stars as Raymond "Red" Reddington in The Blacklist. He is set to play Ultron in Marvel Studios' upcoming film The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Spader was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Jean (née Fraser) and Stoddard Greenwood "Todd" Spader, both teachers. One of Spader's great-great-grandfathers was William Ingersoll Bowditch (of the historic William Ingersoll Bowditch House); Spader's ancestors also include deaf educator Laurent Clerc, mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch, American Revolution general Joshua Babcock, and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia Paul Mascarene.

During his early education, Spader attended The Pike School (where his mother taught art) and enrolled in the Brooks School (where his father taught), for one year, in North Andover, Massachusetts. Spader later transferred to Phillips Academy, but dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to pursue acting at the Michael Chekhov School in New York City. Before becoming a full-time actor, Spader held a variety of jobs including being a yoga instructor, busboy, truck driver, stable boy, and railroad-car loader.

Spader's first major film role was in 1981 as Brooke Shields' brother in Endless Love, and his first starring role was in Tuff Turf alongside good friend 'Robert Downey, Jr.' However, he did not rise to stardom until 1986, when he played Molly Ringwald's arrogant rich playboy foil Steff in Pretty in Pink. He starred opposite 'Andrew McCarthy', another friend, in Mannequin, and in the film adaptation of Less Than Zero, where he played a drug dealer named Rip. Supporting roles in movies such as Baby Boom and Wall Street followed until his critical breakthrough in 1989. In Sex, Lies, and Videotape, he played a sexual voyeur named Graham Dalton who complicates the lives of three Baton Rouge residents. For this performance, he received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His roles in the early 1990s included playing a young, affluent widower opposite 'Susan Sarandon' in White Palace, John Cusack's best friend in True Colors, and a poker-playing drifter who collides with Mandy Patinkin in The Music of Chance. In 1994, he starred as Egyptologist Daniel Jackson in the blockbuster film Stargate. He played car-accident fetishist James Ballard in the controversial Canadian film Crash in 1996 and assassin Lee Woods in 2 Days in the Valley. In 1997, Spader guest starred in an episode of Seinfeld as an angry recovering alcoholic who refuses to apologize to George for making fun of him. In 2000, he played a drug-addicted detective tracking down serial killer 'Keanu Reeves' in The Watcher. In 2002, he starred as Maggie Gyllenhaal's sadistic boss in the critically acclaimed Secretary.


TRIVIA:

• Is known to prefer being called "Jimmy".
• Has very poor eyesight, and cannot wear contact lenses. Has said that in roles in which he does not wear his eyeglasses, he can barely make out the face of the actor across from him in the scene.
• Greatly admires the work of 'Charles Laughton' (qv).
• Born on the same date (7 February 1960) as _"Saturday Night Live" (1975)_ (qv)'s "TV Fun House" writer/cartoonist 'Robert Smigel' (qv), best known as the voice of 'Triumph the insult comic dog' from _"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993)_ (qv).
• First performer to win Leading Actor Emmy's for portraying the same character (Alan Shore) on two different shows (_"The Practice" (1997)_ (qv) and _"Boston Legal" (2004)_ (qv)) without one of the Emmy wins being for guest actor/actress.
• Is quick to point out that, unlike the sleazy, slime ball characters he is best known for playing, he is actually a nice, friendly guy in real life.
• Loves cooking and is an excellent chef.
• Auditioned for the film Taps, but eventually lost the part to 'Sean Penn (I)' (qv).