James Spader

February 7, 1960 (age 66) Boston, Massachusetts, USA
IMDb

James Todd Spader (/ˈspeɪdər/ SPAY-dər; born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, where he has received acclaim and many awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, and ten Screen Actors Guild Awards. Spader began acting in youth-oriented films such as Tuff Turf, The New Kids (both 1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), and Mannequin (1987). His breakthrough role came with the Steven Soderbergh drama Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), for which he received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He then starred in films such as White Palace (1990), True Colors (1991), Stargate (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), and Secretary (2002). Spader took supporting roles in Bob Roberts (1992), Wolf (1994), Lincoln (2012), and The Homesman (2014). He also played the role of Ultron in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). His television roles include the attorney Alan Shore in the last season of The Practice (2003–2004) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004–2008), which earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He portrayed Robert California in the sitcom The Office (2011–2012). He then starred as Raymond Reddington in the NBC crime thriller series The Blacklist (2013–2023), for which he received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Spader, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

His titles like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Stargate, and The Blacklist - his biggest roles first.
Last updated: August 16, 2026

Watched: 0/52
Weighted avg: 6.59 /10
  • 1
    1
    2015April 2015 by Joss Whedon
    Supporting as Ultron (voice)
    Supporting as Ultron (voice)
    6.89 Good+
  • 2
    2
    1994October 1994 by Roland Emmerich
    Lead role as Dr. Daniel Jackson
    Lead role as Dr. Daniel Jackson
    6.62 Good
  • 3
    3
    2013–2023 by Jon Bokenkamp
    Lead role as Raymond 'Red' Reddington
    Lead role as Raymond 'Red' Reddington
    6.80 Good+
  • 4
    4
    2002September 2002 by Steven Shainberg
    Lead role as Mr. Grey
    Lead role as Mr. Grey
    6.36 Good-
  • 5
    5
    2012November 2012 by Steven Spielberg
    Supporting as W.N. Bilbo
    Supporting as W.N. Bilbo
    6.41 Good-
  • 6
    6
    1996July 1996 by David Cronenberg
    Lead role as James Ballard
    Lead role as James Ballard
    6.02 Okay++
  • 7
    7
    1989August 1989 by Steven Soderbergh
    Lead role as Graham Dalton
    Lead role as Graham Dalton
    6.52 Good-
  • 8
    8
    1987December 1987 by Oliver Stone
    Minor role as Roger Barnes
    Minor role as Roger Barnes
    6.75 Good
  • 9
    9
    1994June 1994 by Mike Nichols
    Starring as Stewart Swinton
    Starring as Stewart Swinton
    5.66 Okay
  • 10
    10
    2000September 2000 by Joe Charbanic
    Lead role as FBI Special Agent Joel Campbell
    Lead role as FBI Special Agent Joel Campbell
    4.71 Mediocre+
  • 11
    11
    1986February 1986 by Howard Deutch
    Supporting as Steff McKee
    Supporting as Steff McKee
    6.23 Good--
  • 12
    12
    2000January 2000 by Walter Hill
    Lead role as Nick Vanzant
    Lead role as Nick Vanzant
    4.58 Mediocre+
  • 13
    13
    1987February 1987 by Michael Gottlieb
    Supporting as Mr. Richards
    Supporting as Mr. Richards
    6.42 Good-
  • 14
    14
    2004–2008 by David E. Kelley
    Lead role as Alan Shore
    Lead role as Alan Shore
    7.03 Good++
  • 15
    15
    2014May 2014 by Tommy Lee Jones
    Supporting as Aloysius Duffy
    Supporting as Aloysius Duffy
    6.07 Okay++
  • 16
    16
    1990March 1990 by Curtis Hanson
    Lead role as Michael Boll
    Lead role as Michael Boll
    5.60 Okay
  • 17
    17
    1987October 1987 by Charles Shyer
    Supporting as Ken Arrenberg
    Supporting as Ken Arrenberg
    5.95 Okay++
  • 18
    18
    1987November 1987 by Marek Kanievska
    Supporting as Rip
    Supporting as Rip
    5.95 Okay++
  • 19
    19
    2003July 2003 by Ron Krauss
    Lead role as Julian Rome
    Lead role as Julian Rome
    4.94 Mediocre++
  • 20
    20
    1993November 1993 by Nicholas Kazan
    Lead role as Ray Reardon
    Lead role as Ray Reardon
    6.20 Good--
  • 21
    21
    1990October 1990 by Luis Mandoki
    Starring as Max Baron
    Starring as Max Baron
    6.11 Okay++
  • 22
    22
    1996September 1996 by John Herzfeld
    Supporting as Lee Woods
    Supporting as Lee Woods
    5.74 Okay+
  • 23
    23
    1985January 1985 by Fritz Kiersch
    Lead role as Morgan Hiller
    Lead role as Morgan Hiller
    5.62 Okay
  • 24
    24
    1981July 1981 by Franco Zeffirelli
    Supporting as Keith
    Supporting as Keith
    5.32 Okay-
  • 25
    25
    2009August 2009 by Robert Rodriguez
    Minor role as Carbon Black
    Minor role as Carbon Black
    5.38 Okay-
  • 26
    26
    1988May 1988 by Rowdy Herrington
    Lead role as John Allen Wesford / Richard Wesford
    Lead role as John Allen Wesford / Richard Wesford
    5.26 Okay-
  • 27
    27
    1985January 1985 by Sean S. Cunningham
    Starring as Eddie Dutra
    Starring as Eddie Dutra
    5.97 Okay++
  • 28
    28
    1991March 1991 by Herbert Ross
    Starring as Tim Gerrity
    Starring as Tim Gerrity
    5.86 Okay+
  • 29
    29
    1992September 1992 by Tim Robbins
    Minor role as Chuck Marlin
    Minor role as Chuck Marlin
    6.09 Okay++
  • 30
    30
    1997October 1997 by Sidney Lumet
    Lead role as Dr. Werner Ernst
    Lead role as Dr. Werner Ernst
    5.92 Okay++
  • 31
    31
    2003March 2003 by Rod Holcomb
    Lead role as Daniel Ellsberg
    Lead role as Daniel Ellsberg
    5.70 Okay+
  • 32
    32
    2001October 2001 by John McNaughton
    Lead role as Dr. Roger Klink
    Lead role as Dr. Roger Klink
    5.52 Okay
  • 33
    33
    1997–2004 by David E. Kelley
    Minor role as Alan Shore
    Minor role as Alan Shore
    6.56 Good
  • 34
    34
    1993June 1993 by Philip Haas
    Lead role as Jack Pozzi
    Lead role as Jack Pozzi
    6.03 Okay++
  • 35
    35
    1998December 1998 by Peter Yates
    Lead role as Stevenson Lowe
    Lead role as Stevenson Lowe
    5.50 Okay
  • 36
    36
    2002February 2002 by Rowdy Herrington
    Lead role as John Parker
    Lead role as John Parker
    5.95 Okay++
  • 37
    37
    1997April 1997 by Leslie Greif
    Starring as Ronnie Stover
    Starring as Ronnie Stover
    5.29 Okay-
  • 38
    38
    2004September 2004 by Rich Cowan
    Starring as William Ashbury
    Starring as William Ashbury
    5.54 Okay
  • 39
    39
    2003April 2003 by Rowdy Herrington
    Starring as Douglas Draper
    Starring as Douglas Draper
    5.59 Okay
  • 40
    40
    1992August 1992 by Mark Frost
    Lead role as Cray Fowler
    Lead role as Cray Fowler
    5.67 Okay+
  • 41
    41
    1989May 1989 by Damian Harris
    Supporting as Deforest
    Supporting as Deforest
    5.42 Okay-
  • 42
    42
    1997January 1997 by Ronan O'Leary
    Lead role as The Man
    Lead role as The Man
    5.85 Okay+
  • 43
    43
    1985January 1985 by Jeffrey Bloom
    Lead role as Joey Callaghan
    Lead role as Joey Callaghan
    5.70 Okay+
  • 44
    44
    2000September 2000 by Christian Ford
    Starring as Marcus
    Starring as Marcus
    5.27 Okay-
  • 45
    45
    1983October 1983 by Richard T. Heffron
    Starring as Donny Tison
    Starring as Donny Tison
    6.02 Okay++
  • 46
    46
    1988January 1988 by Damian Harris
    Lead role as Digby
    Lead role as Digby
    Needs more reviews
  • 47
    47
    1983February 1983 by Paul Wendkos
    Supporting as Buddy Gant
    Supporting as Buddy Gant
    Needs more reviews
  • 48
    48
    2006–2008
    Lead role
    Lead role
    Needs more reviews
  • 49
    49
    1983August 1983 by Barry Levinson
    Supporting as Fenwick
    Supporting as Fenwick
    Needs more reviews
  • 50
    50
    1984May 1984 by Jack Hofsiss
    Supporting as Lowell Everall
    Supporting as Lowell Everall
    Needs more reviews
  • 51
    51
    1983 by Carol Evan McKeand
    Starring
    Starring
    Needs more reviews
  • 52
    52
    Airing since 2026 by Terry Matalas
    Supporting as Ultron
    Supporting as Ultron
    Needs more reviews
Co-starring with:
Eric Stoltz 5 titles
Andrew McCarthy 3 titles
Mandy Patinkin 2 titles
Jeff Daniels 2 titles
Robin Tunney 2 titles
David Keith 1 title
Polly Walker 1 title