James Spader Movies
Often noted for his comment that he enjoys working in all of his films -- as long as he doesn't have to see any of them -- actor James Spader (born February 2nd, 1960) may have missed out on seeing a few good performances in some pretty memorable films.
Though descended from a long line of scholars and professors, Spader, in ironic contrast to his theatrical image as the definitive... (read more) terminal yuppie, dropped out of Phillips Andover prep school to pursue a career as an actor. Forsaking his formal education, Spader instead decided to focus his attention on acting by studying at the Michael Chekhov school in New York, while also working a variety of odd jobs to support himself until he found success as a thespian. Making his debut in the 1978 comedy Team Mates, Spader began the slow process of gaining more frequent work with roles of increasing substance. Spader's first role came in Franco Zeffirelli's soft-core teen melodrama Endless Love (1981) (also notable as the debut of another young unknown actor named Tom Cruise. After a brief, mid-'80s stint in teen exploitation including Tuff Turf and The New Kids (both 1985), Spader gained mainstream recognition with his first fore in yuppiedom as Molly Ringwald's insincere suitor in Pretty in Pink (1986). Over the course of the next few years, Spader would refine his slimy persona to perfection in Wall Street (1987) and Less Than Zero (1987), and take an interesting turn as a possible serial killer in the Jack the Ripper thriller Jack's Back (1988), but it was the end of the decade that brought the defining role in Spader's career.
Though his role in independent filmmaker Steven Soderbergh's voyeurism-obsessed sex, lies and videotape did little to propel his persona into more likeable territories, it showed an actor with considerable talent who wasn't afraid to take risks, winning him the Best Actor award at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. Spader's dark portrayal of the ominously seductive videophile struck a chord in audiences and critics alike and turned him into a household name. The '90s found Spader expanding his yuppie image into more sympathetic territory with roles in White Palace and Bad Influence (both 1990), and he continued his likeable trend in the first of the mega-budget Dean Devlin/Roland Emmerich collaborations, Stargate (1994), before reverting back as Jack Nicholson's manipulative lycanthropic rival in Mike Nichols' imaginative satire Wolf (1994). Controversy soon followed with David Cronenberg's widely panned study of fetishistic alienation Crash (1996), and Spader has worked steadily since, with roles in Supernova (2000) and Speaking of Sex (2001). With the release of Secretary (2002), Spader once again found himself in the favor of art house audiences for his portrayal of a demanding lawyer who hires a recently released mental patient for the eponimous duty.
Spader found success on the small screen once again for his work on Boston Legal from 2004 to 2008 as the character of Alan Moore, a vehemently moral attorney who resorts to unethical methods during his pursuit of justice (a role that would win the actor two Emmys). Spader made a guest appearance on an episode of The Office, and returned to the sitcom in 2011 as part of the main cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Shorts
PG 2009
A young boy living in a cookie-cutter suburb gets hit on the head with a rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes to anyone who holds it in this family-oriented {\fantasy...
Boston Legal: Season 05
2008
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Boston Legal: Season 04
2007
The quirky characters at Crane, Poole and Schmidt are at it again, bringing the most outrageous and often times improbable cases to court....
Boston Legal: Season 03
2006
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Discovery Atlas: China Revealed
2006
For curious Americans looking to learn more about Chinese culture, this program offers an in-depth look at the people, traditions, and landscapes of contemporary China that is...
Boston Legal: Season 02
2005
Created by television mastermind David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, The Practice, Picket Fences) and featuring an Emmy Award-winning cast including William Shatner, Candice Bergen, and...
Boston Legal: Season 01
2004
Led by an Emmy Award-winning cast (James Spader, Denny Crane and Candice Bergen), "Boston Legal" tells the professional and personal stories of a group of brilliant but often...
Shadow of Fear
PG13 2004
When an underground society of powerful and dangerous men transforms from a secretive safe haven into a tangled web of lies and deceit, their unwavering desperation culminates in...
I Witness
R 2003
An American abroad discovers that a series of crimes may have a greater significance than imagined in this drama. Rhodes (Jeff Daniels) is an American human rights...
The Pentagon Papers
R 2003
It was certainly no coincidence that the made-for-cable historical film The Pentagon Papers was timed for released just when America was poised to wrestle with the question...
The Practice: Season 08
2003
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Alien Hunter
R 2003
James Spader stars in the made-for-TV movie Alien Hunter. Berkley professor Dr. Julian Rome (Spader) is a former code-reader for the government project known as Search...
Speaking of Sex
R 2003
Wild Things director James McNaughton explores the doomed efforts of young couple to salvage their failing marriage in a dark romantic comedy starring Bill Murray,...
Secretary
R 2002
Sadomasochism provides the backdrop for a very unusual employer/employee relationship in this very offbeat romantic drama from filmmaker Steven Shainberg. Lee Holloway...
The Stickup
R 2001
When a bank robber takes up residence in a small town after having gotten away with half a million dollars, country life is disrupted by a former cop (James Spader) and a local...
The Watcher
R 2000
A detective is urged on by the lunatic he's trying to put behind bars in this crime thriller. Joel Campbell (James Spader) is a police detective who has recently relocated to...
Slow Burn
R 2000
Greed and obsession fuel a deadly showdown in this thriller. When Trina (Minnie Driver) was a girl, her mother and father were determined to find a fortune in diamonds that had...
Supernova
R 2000
In the early years of the 22nd century, a medical rescue team is traveling the netherworlds of deep space, waiting to answer emergency calls aboard what amounts to an interstellar...
Curtain Call
PG13 1998
In this romantic comedy with supernatural touches, Stevenson Lowe (James Spader) works for a large publishing house, editing and acquiring new projects. Lowe's new boss is...
Critical Care
R 1997
Sidney Lumet filmed this hospital satire at a Canadian studio. Alcoholic Dr. Butz (Albert Brooks in old-age makeup) advises younger Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) to...