About James Spader
James Todd Spader ( SPAY-dər; born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying morally ambiguous and eccentric characters. His accolades include three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, 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 in Steven Soderbergh's 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 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 television series The Blacklist (2013–2023), for which he received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. Kelley said there was resistance when he first tried to cast Spader in the role, "I was told that no one would ever welcome James Spader into their living room". Spader's first major film role was in the film Endless Love (1981), and his first starring role was in Tuff Turf (1985).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.