James Spader may have shot to prominence as a movie actor in the 1980s, but his best work in recent decades has been playing some of TV’s most memorable characters. With his magnetic screen presence and unmistakable, low-pitched drawl, Spader has become one of the most sought-after actors in television.
Since 2003, he’s made selective appearances on the big screen, including Lincoln and Avengers: Age of Ultron. During the same period, Spader’s three most iconic TV characters have made him a household name. Prior to appearing in David E. Kelley’s legal drama series The Practice in 2003, the actor had only featured in two TV shows, besides starring in several made-for-television movies of varying quality.
Yet, Spader’s best movie roles to that point suggested he was well-suited to longer-form, episodic characterization, from voyeuristic drifter Graham Dalton in Sex, Lies, and Videotape, to lawyer Cray Fowler in Storyville. Still, the actor’s film career and early TV roles gave us little indication of the generation-defining small-screen characters he was about to play in the 2000s and 2010s.
6. Jason “Stanky” Hanke
Seinfeld
James Spader’s role in Seinfeld bears little relation to the characters he’d go on to play later in his career. His turn as George Costanza’s erstwhile friend Jason “Stanky” Hanke in the Seinfeld episode “The Apology” is a brief footnote in the show’s final season, but it’s an impressive performance nonetheless.
Jason makes amends to various people he feels he’s wronged during his life by giving out a round of apologies, but somehow neglects to apologize to George for refusing to lend him his sweater. The way Spader’s character doubles down on not apologizing to George brings the best out of the actor in ways few others could replicate.
In stark contrast to the conciliatory attitude he adopts with others in the episode, Jason readily insults the size of George’s head and neck, revealing himself to be even more obnoxious and self-righteous than his old friend. Spader’s rare ability to switch from understated humility to haughty arrogance in an instant is what makes Jason Hanke work so well.
5. Jake Nichols
The Family Tree
Years before the likes of Pretty in Pink and Wall Street helped put James Spader on the map in Hollywood, his first role as a main character came in this six-episode TV family drama. Spader was just 23 years of age when he starred as teenager Jake Nichols in The Family Tree.
The series was cancelled just a month after it premiered because it failed to garner a significant audience. Spader shows glimpses of his talent in scenes as a brooding, melancholy teen whose dissatisfaction with his life and his family simmers just beneath the surface.
His co-star in The Family Tree, Melora Hardin, would later become a cast member of The Office, a distinction Spader shares with her, although their tenures on the sitcom didn’t overlap. They’re arguably the two standout performers in this short-lived 1983 drama, although The Family Tree had little impact on either actor’s career.
4. Daniel Ellsberg
The Pentagon Papers
The only TV movie of James Spader’s career that’s worthy of comparison with his best big-screen feature films, The Pentagon Papers tells the story of how US military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked classified documents about the Vietnam War to major American newspapers in 1973.
This role prefigures the iconic small-screen character he’d first bring to life a decade after The Pentagon Papers first aired.
Viewers may know Ellsberg’s name from the recent White House Plumbers, a satirical miniseries starring Woody Harrelson, or from Steven Spielberg’s 2017 movie The Post. However, only Spader’s portrayal of Ellsberg furnishes this controversial figure in modern American history with the gravitas his story merits.
Spader is perfectly cast in the role, which prefigures the iconic small-screen character he’d first bring to life a decade after The Pentagon Papers first aired. Enigmatic yet captivating, brilliant yet somewhat fear-inducing, this version of Daniel Ellsberg is everything that would later come to define a great James Spader TV character.
3. Robert California
The Office
Despite James Spader only starring as Robert California in 19 episodes of The Office, the actor managed to make his character one of the standout elements of the show’s final two seasons. California is utterly bizarre and completely electrifying, but pure Spader every step of the way.
It’s hardly surprising when Dunder Mifflin’s new CEO turns out to be a con man in his final appearance, yet even this revelation brings us no closer to solving who Robert California actually is. It matters not, however, as viewers love the character precisely because of the veil of mystery in which he cloaks himself.
Imagining The Office’s post-Steve Carell era without Robert California puts into perspective how important James Spader’s wonderfully off-the-wall characterization is to the sitcom. He’s the breath of fresh air it needed in season 8, particularly when likelier Michael Scott replacements didn’t work. Spader’s character makes no sense on paper, but somehow charms us into believing he’s perfect for the job.
2. Alan Shore
The Practice, Boston Legal
Alan Shore was supposed to be a one-season wonder in the final season of legal drama The Practice. But James Spader made such a success of playing Shore that he got his own spinoff comedy show. Boston Legal remains one of the best legal-procedural TV series ever made, while its central character is arguably the greatest in the genre’s history.
A true maverick of his profession, Alan Shore uses whatever methods he has at his disposal to defend a client, regardless of how legitimate these methods might be. Shore regularly clashes with his superiors and often gives off an air of pompous condescension at work. But his strong moral compass ensures that his heart is invariably in the right place.
Shore is a complex character with many layers to him, with a vast array of neuroses that reveal themselves during the course of Boston Legal. Perhaps most famously, he has a chronic fear of clowns, which makes one courtroom cross-examination particularly difficult for him to conduct.
The most enjoyable aspect of Alan Shore’s characterization in Boston Legal, however, is his longstanding personal friendship with his loudmouth professional mentor Denny Crane, who’s played by William Shatner. Between them, Spader and Shatner make the greatest double-act in any legal series. They also clearly served as inspiration for Elliott Gould’s performance as Mickey Haller’s mentor in The Lincoln Lawyer.
1. Raymond “Red” Reddington
The Blacklist
When it comes to James Spader TV characters, there can only ever be one name at the top of the pile. Spader’s performance in the crime thriller The Blacklist is undoubtedly the greatest of his career, as well as one of the greatest in the entire pantheon of crime thriller protagonists.
Just like with Robert California, it’s never made clear to us who Raymond “Red” Reddington really is, but we don’t actually need to find out. It’s Spader’s characterization that makes slippery master-criminal Red someone we root for and relate to, even though he has no right to receive our sympathy.
Raymond Reddington never denies his dubious moral credentials or the seriousness of his crimes. Throughout The Blacklist, he’s a cold-blooded killer who’s not to be trusted. Yet, Spader makes us feel for – and even with – Red more times than we’d care to admit. He treads a fine line of anti-heroic ambiguity, keeping us both hooked and sympathetic for 10 seasons.
Few actors have ever been able to carry off such a masterclass in nuance and complexity on the small screen. It’s a testament to James Spader that The Blacklist kept going for as long as it did, despite declining in quality during its final years. However, the audience was always with Red, though, whatever he did.
