James Spader

James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in films such as '; Less Than Zero; '; Crash; Stargate; and Secretary. His most famous television roles are those of the colorful attorney in ' and its spin-off ', for which he won three s, and  in The Office. He portrayed Doctor Daniel Jackson in the 1994 featured movie.

Early life
Spader was born in, Massachusetts, the son of Jean (née Fraser) and Stoddard Greenwood "Todd" Spader, both teachers. One of Spader's great-great-grandfathers was William Ingersoll Bowditch (of the historic ); Spader's ancestors also include deaf educator, mathematician , American Revolution general , and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia.

During his early education, Spader attended (where his mother taught art) and enrolled in the  (where his father taught), for one year, in. Spader later transferred to, but dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to pursue acting at the School in New York City. Before becoming a full-time actor, Spader held a variety of jobs including being a yoga instructor, busboy, truck driver, stable boy, and railroad-car loader.

Career
Spader's first major film role was in 1981 as ' brother in Endless Love, and his first starring role was in ' alongside good friend However, he did not rise to stardom until 1986, when he played 's foil Steff in '. He starred opposite, another friend, in Mannequin, and in the film adaptation of Less Than Zero, where he played a drug dealer named Rip. Supporting roles in movies such as Baby Boom and Wall Street followed until his critical breakthrough in 1989. In , he played a sexual voyeur named Graham Dalton who complicates the lives of three residents. For this performance, he received the Best Actor Award at the. His roles in the early 1990s included playing a young, affluent widower opposite in White Palace, 's best friend in True Colors, and a poker-playing drifter who collides with  in The Music of Chance. In 1994, he starred as Egyptologist Daniel Jackson in the blockbuster film Stargate. He played car-accident fetishist James Ballard in the controversial Canadian film Crash in 1996 and assassin Lee Woods in . In 1997, Spader guest starred in an episode of Seinfeld as an angry recovering alcoholic who refuses to apologize to George for making fun of him. In 2000, he played a drug-addicted detective tracking down serial killer in The Watcher. In 2001, he starred as 's sadistic boss in the critically acclaimed Secretary.

From 2004 to 2008, Spader starred as the lead character Alan Shore in the television series ', in which he reprised his role from the television series '. Spader won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series  for his portrayal of Alan Shore in 2004, on The Practice and won it again in 2005 and 2007, for Boston Legal. With the 2005 Emmy Win, Spader became one of the few actors (along with co-star as ) to win an Emmy award while playing the same character in two different series. Even rarer, Shatner and Spader each won a second consecutive Emmy while playing the same character in two different series. Spader also won the for Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for Boston Legal in 2006.

In October 2006, Spader narrated China Revealed, the first episode of 's documentary series .

Spader starred as a lead character in Race, a play written and directed by. It opened on December 6, 2009 at the on Broadway. The show closed on August 21, 2010 after 297 performances.

In March 2011, Spader was named to star in By Virtue Fall, a film written and to be directed by. As of June 2011, the movie is in pre-production, and set to be released 2013.

Spader was one of a number of prominent guest stars in "," the final episode of season 7 of The Office. He portrayed a man named. On June 27, 2011, (an executive producer on the show) announced Spader was to join the cast on a permanent basis. Spader planned to stay only through the eighth season, and while the original plan was just to do the guest appearance, executive producer Paul Lieberstein said, "those two scenes became a season."

Personal life
Spader met his first wife, Victoria Kheel, a decorator, while working in a yoga studio, after he moved to New York in the 1980s. They married in 1987 and have two sons, Elijah and Sebastian. Spader filed for divorce from Kheel in 2004 and, as of June 2011, has plans to marry his girlfriend (and former  co-star),, with whom he had a child in August 2008.

Actor

 * Doctor Daniel Jackson

Awards and nominations
Spader has won 5 awards, out of 26 nominations.