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James Spader

Born February 7, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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 bussed 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).

Age: 66
Height: 177 cm
Credits: 541
Recaps: 1

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Biography

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 bussed 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.

Trivia

1Has two sons: Sebastian Spader (born 1989) and Elijah Spader (born 1992).
2Greatly admires the work of Charles Laughton.
3Has two unsuccessful television pilots, Diner (1983) and Starcrossed (1985), to his credit.
4Is known to prefer being called "Jimmy".
5His wife, Victoria Spader, was the set decorator for Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).

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6Refuses to watch any of the movies he has appeared in.
7Born on the same date (February 7, 1960) as Saturday Night Live (1975) "TV Fun House" writer/cartoonist Robert Smigel, best known as the voice of Triumph the insult comic dog from Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993).
8Loves cooking and is an excellent chef.
9Has 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.
10First performer to win Leading Drama Actor Emmy Awards for portraying the same character (Alan Shore) on two different series (The Practice (1997) and Boston Legal (2004)).
11Is quick to point out that, unlike the sleazy, sneaky characters he is best known for playing, he is actually a nice, friendly man in real life.
12Has appeared with Andrew McCarthy in three films: Pretty in Pink (1986), Mannequin (1987) and Less Than Zero (1987). McCarthy would later direct Spader in multiple episodes of The Blacklist (2013).
13Has appeared with Eric Stoltz in four films: A Killer in the Family (1983), The New Kids (1985), 2 Days in the Valley (1996) and Keys to Tulsa (1997).
14Auditioned for the role of Cadet Captain Alex Dwier in the drama film Taps (1981), but eventually lost to Sean Penn.
15He was working as a janitor at a rehearsal studio run by acting teacher & casting director Trent Gough in Times Square when he landed his first feature film Endless Love (1981).
16His father died two weeks before he began production on Critical Care (1997).
17Has 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.
18Fiancée Leslie Stefanson gave birth to his third son, Nathaneal, on August 31, 2008.
19Ex-son-in-law of Lee Kheel.
20Parents are Stoddard Greenwood and Jean (Fraser) Spader, both educators.