James Spader
James Spader: Emmy-winning actor known for morally ambiguous roles in film and television.
James Todd Spader, the youngest of three children, entered the world on February 7, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts.[1]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- James Todd Spader
- Born
- 7 February 1960
- Birthplace
- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor
- Years active
- 1978–present
- Partner
- Leslie Stefanson (2002–present)
- Children
- 3
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He attended many private schools, including The Pike School and the Brooks School, before transferring to Phillips Academy and dropping out at age seventeen to move to New York City.[2] He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2004 for The Practice and again in 2005 and 2007 for Boston Legal.[3] He also played the villainous robot Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).[4] Spader married decorator Victoria Kheel in 1987, filed for divorce in 2004, and has two sons with her.[5]
The 1981 film Endless Love marked Spader's initial major movie role, and he got his first leading part in the 1985 film Tuff Turf.[6] Playing the wealthy, conceited playboy Steff in the 1986 film Pretty in Pink propelled him to fame.[6] Spader portrayed Alan Shore on Boston Legal from 2004 to 2008, a character he had previously played on The Practice in 2003.[7] A romantic relationship with Leslie Stefanson, his co-star in Alien Hunter, began in 2002, and the couple has one son.[5]
What the cited sources add
He also said, "I don't know a time when sexuality wasn't the prism through which I saw the world."[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jean Fraser Spader, 84, "Gigi", musician, teacher, volunteer"; "James Spader Biography", The Biography.com website; Goldman, "James Spader, the strangest man on TV", April 21, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rebello, "PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: JAMES SPADER", Playboy, August 18, 2014; "James Spader Biography", TV Guide; "James Spader Biography", The Biography.com website; "James Spader Biography", TV Guide (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Awards for James Spader", Internet Movie Database; "James Spader Emmy Award Winner", Emmys.com; James Spader at the Primetime Emmy Award Database (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "James Spader Returning as Ultron for Marvel's Vision Series", The Hollywood Reporter, August 23, 2024; "Marvel Television's 'VisionQuest' Debuts This Fall", Marvel.com, May 12, 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "James Spader Plans to Wed Again", Contact Music, December 29, 2005; Goldman, "James Spader, the strangest man on TV", April 21, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Awards for James Spader", Internet Movie Database (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "James Spader" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "David E. Kelley Reveals Why James Spader Almost Didn't Star in 'Boston Legal'", The Hollywood Reporter (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "James Spader Reveals His Childhood Sexual Fantasy (And What He Regrets Most About It)", August 15, 2014. facts only, no text reused. eonline.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article James Spader (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Writers & Journalists
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced