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u/rizkybizness 2d ago
The only reason the Blacklist ever worked.Ā
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u/Gen_X_Icon 2d ago
My friend would wholeheartedly agree with you on that one. Every other character on that show pissed him off. Except for Dembe Zuma. He was the only otherr character he liked.
I am telling you ā¦ I have never seen anyone cuss at tv characters that much. He was wishing for most of the main characters to ā ļø
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u/neon_meate 2d ago
I watched five seasons of that dreck just to watch Spader talk.
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u/Sosumi_rogue 1d ago
Elizabeth Keen was the WORST. I had to stop watching because I couldn't stand her anymore. She was wooden and awful.
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u/I_am_Reddit_Tom 1d ago
They wasted Dembe, too much inscrutable malevolence with the odd sprinkle of backstory. Elizabeth Keen was awful.
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u/jesusmansuperpowers 2d ago
I wish that show didnāt exist. Anytime a great actor like him does a procedural itās just preventing him from doing other projects.
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u/VanimalCracker 2d ago
He had been mainly doing tv procedurals for like a decade by the time Blacklist came out
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u/alliefaith144 1d ago
Him and Dembe. I was SO happy when Elizabeth was killed off.
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u/Oxbow41 2d ago
One of the most underrated actors of our time. Never seen him in anything that he wasn't good. I feel like he never took himself too seriously as to refuse to accept smaller roles, or even bit parts. A fine actor
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u/faulternative 2d ago
I think he's said in interviews that he really only cares about characters that interest him personally. Paychecks aren't what drives him.
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u/bscott886 2d ago
Very intense actor. Can play comedy, can play villains, can play seductive, he has a huge range even though he never quite disappears into the role: thereās always hints of Spader in every role. That being said, heās a terrific actor who was everywhere in the 80s, fell off somewhat in the 90s, and had a well deserved resurgence in the 2000-10s. My personal favorite performance of his is in WOLF w/Jack Nicholson
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u/cumulonimubus 2d ago
Sex, Lies, and Videotape was filmed in my home town. He and Andie McDowell had the sexiest chemistry.
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u/CelticSnakes 1d ago
The conversation he shared w/ Laura San Giacomo when she showed up at his pad, that wasā¦it still makes me grin, shiver inside.
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u/grafforloch 1d ago
In that movie I started to see how talented he is. BTW, it's one of the best movies from the 80's.
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u/Shantomette 2d ago
Loved him in Boston Legal!
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u/Agreeable_Night5836 1d ago
Agree, he and William Shatner, what a combination. Denny Crane.
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u/faulternative 2d ago
Alan Shore. Incredible performance.
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u/Muggins2233 2d ago
He and William Shatner were funny as hell together in Boston Legal. Loved that show.
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u/uberneuman_part2 2d ago
In the back of my head I keep hoping for a new series with him back as Alan.
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u/faulternative 2d ago
Possible hot take incoming
I feel like Alan Shore can't exist in 2026, at least not as a charismatic persona.
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u/Own_Faithlessness769 2d ago
I agree, I think that level of confidence comes across as shady now. He had a Bill Clinton quality to him that doesnāt work anymore, heād need to be entirely different.
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u/twilight-actual 2d ago
Reading all the comments here: you people are on the wrong drugs.
Spader is amazing.
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u/skinney6 2d ago
He owns a piece of 80's nostalgia with this role. Just nailed it.
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u/gunnergrrl 2d ago edited 2d ago
"You couldn't buy her, though, that's what's killing you, isn't it? Stef? That's it, Stef. She thinks you're shit. And deep down, you know she's right."
Seriously, though, he nailed it as an 80s version of a smarmy tech bro. Killed it as a passionate but morally dubious lawyer. And was brilliant as an ex-government intelligence officer.
Fantastic actor.
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u/80sgurl4eva 2d ago
Perfect Bad Boy of the 80ās.
You hated him, but you wanted him ā¤ļøāš„
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u/diettonicwater_ 2d ago
Love him in everything he does because he is incredible, even if the project has no appeal otherwise.
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u/The1Bonesaw 2d ago
No one spades as well as he does... I challenge anyone to tell me when they have ever seen a better spader.
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u/Silent-Gear4609 2d ago edited 2d ago
James Spader & Christopher Walken are two of my favorite actors.
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u/FlyOnTheWall4637 2d ago
I really liked him in White Palace, with Susan Sarandon.
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u/ohnodamo 2d ago
I was going to say he's a Bad Influence but it was Rob Lowe who was the bad influence right?
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u/NotDeadYet57 2d ago
Correct, and Rob Lowe, with his pretty boy looks, makes a GREAT bad guy.
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u/Reasonable-Plate2982 2d ago
So does Spader. He was awesome low key evil in Less Than Zero
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u/ohnodamo 2d ago
That's why I was confused. Between Less Than Zero and Bad Influence they do a heel turn. Also, didnt Bad Influence come out around the time Rob Lowe's sex tape was leaked? (The original sex tape IMHO)
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u/Reasonable-Plate2982 2d ago
His defence was he was doing deep research for the role. The problem was, the girl he solicited and paid brought an underage friend to the party.Ā
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u/Blackbird_1986 2d ago
I liked him and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary (the movie that 50 Shades of Grey always wanted to be but never was and never will be) š
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u/Several_Club_3392 23h ago
Interesting facts about James Spader: (1) Has 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. (2) Has 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. (3) He 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).
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u/Itsdifferent16 2d ago
great actor, not a box office leading mn type, but great actor. In the right role he could well win an academy award.
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u/bardavolga2 2d ago
Love him. Some of it is nostalgia, but there's talent there, too, & he seems decent & nutty. He's meant to be onscreen. I remember an interview with Andrew McCarthy from years ago (McCarthy has his own issues), & he said they used to talk on the phone a lot & Spader would just go off on these philosophical musings. McCarthy would put the phone down sometimes to get a snack or go to the bathroom or whatever. A while later, he'd come back & pick up the phone, & Spader would still be rambling on. I always picture him just entertaining himself with the sound of his own voice.
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u/GwonWitcha 2d ago
He so good at the portrayal of being morally corrupt, we should call him Darth Spader.
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u/Odd_Ad_9604 2d ago
Probably one of the best actors of his generation. TV, movies, it doesn't matter, he delivers well developed characters.
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u/tdawg2k7 2d ago
Iām not big into the marvel movies but am watching vision quest purely because of him. So far heās great in it
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u/Inevitable_Age5502 2d ago
Very talented. Can do pretty much any genre. I agree with others, that giving the right role, he could be nominated to an Oscar.
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u/KBrown75 2d ago
One of my favorite actors. Especially his stint in The Practice and its spin off Boston Legal.
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u/knitbitch007 2d ago
Had perpetually given me the ick but it makes him really good in those icky roles.
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u/AnalysisParalysis85 2d ago
I particularly liked him in Boston Legal
The man has a way with words.
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u/faulternative 2d ago
He made such an unbelievable character into such a believable performance in this role. Absolute talent.
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u/Electrical-Sun6267 2d ago
I think I've enjoyed him in every role, but his third act of roles have been my favorite. His languid storytelling has a way of drawing me in. He carried Blacklist. He made Ultron an interesting villain. He was great in Boston Legal. His earlier work was watchable, but now I look forward to seeing him.
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u/ohwhatfun9932 2d ago
Hes and amazing actor. Been a fan for decades. I'll movie that he's in just because he's in it.
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u/Codenamehardhat77 2d ago
I think he's great. I like that he and Robert Downey Jr were both in Avengers Age of Ultron AND Less Than Zero. But beyond that, I have not watched a movie or show where I didn't like Spader. I even liked him as a Micheal Scott replacement on the Office. Checking him out these days in Marvel Vision Quest. Good stuff.
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u/duckforceone 21h ago
Boston Legal made me adore him.
He was absolutely phenomenal in that. And to be able to step up and match such actors as William Shatner, Candice Bergen and Rene Auberjonois, is just amazing.
And then we got to have him in The Blacklist, and now VisionQuest (and the other mcu movies of course)
And then you realize one day that it was also him in Star Gate....
so yes, i rate him highly.
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u/Old-Artist-5369 2d ago
A lot less after Robert California.
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u/East_Ad4977 2d ago
Yeah? I thought he was great at that. He made it weird in just the right way.
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u/BnZAwkward_Lab5858 2d ago
great actorā¦ re-watching Blacklist atm he is so great and Iām anxious to see him in Vision Quest and i liked him in that lawyer show
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u/GatorCustoms 2d ago
Surprised no ones mentioned his role in Wolf alongside Jack Nicholson. I thought it was decent
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u/33301Florida 2d ago
I wasn't a fan until Boston Legal and then Blacklist. He was brilliant in both.
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u/PleaseBurnBabyBurn 2d ago
He has this psycho sex charm in him, he was perfect in crash, reminds me of a guy with a similar glance and great at sex
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u/Grizz_bruh 2d ago
Spader is highly intelligent and well versed in many rolls. I personally enjoyed The Blacklist and many others. Boston Legal he was a legend.
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u/shugEOuterspace 2d ago
He's fantastic in the new vision quest show that started this week. Great beard too
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u/Head_Ad_5277 2d ago
šššššššš Best villain, best sexy 1980s & 1990s villain
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u/Ok_Tailor_7185 2d ago
His voice over acting is great. He knocked Ultron out of the park and will appear as a version of Ultron in the upcoming VisionQuest.
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u/throwawaycpa1980 2d ago
He gives me the creeps. Immediate ick. If that's the point of the characters he plays (which seems to be from the couple I've seen), he's a superb actor. I still don't think I'd want to hang with him irl, but that feeling is probably mutual.
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u/dry_land_swimmer 2d ago
He played William Bilbo, an obscure Civil War political figure and made it an interesting and memorable role. Now I want to go back and watch Lincoln again.
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u/scipio79 2d ago
Heās a brilliant actor. Like when I was a kid and saw him in Pretty In Pink, I assumed he was a preppy douche irl, but after seeing him in various roles over the decades, he chooses really unique roles and owns all of them. He has a lot of intensity and thereās something about him thatās kind of intimidating. Overall, Iām a fan of
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u/muddycrutch 2d ago
I liked Boston Legal with Shatner. He won 3 Emmys which is nice. He was good friends with JFK Jr at Andover. He told a funny story about vomiting in front of Jackie. I think heās amazing.
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u/stepheme 2d ago
He transitioned from smoking hot brooding man (bad in pretty in pinkā¦ fascinating in sex lies and videotapes)ā¦ into one of our best character actors.. and thru it all his voice has been his best acting instrument
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u/JadeBumbleB 2d ago
James Spader is a superb actor. His voice is mellifluous, like hot buttered rum. I haver never seen him deliver anything other than a stellar performance. So many favorites character roles: Stargate, Sex Lies and Videotape,The Practice, Boston Legal, Lincoln, The Blacklist, True Colors, Pretty In Pink, and so many more. Even when he has a small role, he dominates the scenes he is in and you can't Take your eyes off of him.