James Spader was so good in his first major TV appearance that the showrunners kept him around for 123 episodes of the spin-off series. You may know him as Ultron in the MCU, or Robert California in The Office, or Red Reddington of The Blacklist, because James Spader has made his mark in a lot of different places.
Spader began his acting career in 1978, appearing in the little-known movie Team Mates, where he plays Jimmy. Later, he moved onto television in 1983, appearing in four shows that year, but it wasn’t until 2003 that he got the first big TV acting role of his career, a role which led to perhaps his most iconic performance.
The Practice’s Final Season Introduced The World To James Spader’s Alan Shore
Alan Shore Is A Smart, Capable, Mildly-Unethical Lawyer
The Practice was a long-running legal drama starring Dylan McDermott as Bobby Donnell that ran from 1997-2004. In season 8, the final season of the show, a new character entered the series: Alan Shore, played by James Spader. Alan is a brilliant, well-informed, and occasionally unethical lawyer.
Alan Shore is hired by Young, Frutt and Berluti and becomes a successful associate there. His unethical methods get results, but rub partners the wrong way. By the end of the show, Alan has been fired alongside Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra), and the pair move on to another firm, Crane, Poole and Schmidt.
Alan Shore Was The Perfect Character In The Practice To Lead A Spinoff Show
Alan Shore Is The Perfect Combination Of Charismatic, Talented, And Witty
After The Practice ended with season 8, it was clear that there was an appetite for a similar legal drama series, and who better to lead the show than James Spader as Alan Shore. Spader went from a recurring character in one season to the lead of Boston Legal alongside William Shatner as Denny Crane.
Boston Legal takes a distinctively funnier tone than The Practice, and James Spader has the type of energy needed. Alan Shore is capable and even a little unnerving, but he also has a great sense of humor and can play the straight man or the prankster, which is why Spader’s been the lead of more than one major series.
James Spader’s Boston Legal Ended Up Being Just As Good As The Practice
Boston Legal Has A Better Balance Of Comedy And Drama
As beloved as The Practice was, it was never a certainty that Boston Legal would also be good. It turned out that Boston Legal became just as acclaimed a legal drama as The Practice, if not more so. The shows tackle similar issues with a measured attitude, but Boston Legal strikes a better balance between drama and comedy.
The combination of William Shatner and James Spader feels like it would not necessarily work. Both are “big” actors who get a lot out of chewing the scene; however, when they’re together, they don’t step on each other’s toes. They’re synced up well, and it’s a big reason Boston Legal works as it does.
