Top 10 James Spader performances

I had planned on making an updated favorite actors list, but that's just too much work and honestly I can see my opinion changing again before I could ever even finish posting it, so instead I'll just unload a few top 10s of some of my prospective top 50 favorites. James Spader was a more recent one for me as I only just finished Boston Legal, but needless to say I've been very impressed by him and enjoyed him a great deal -- especially lately. Anyway here's the top 10 I mad of the things I've seen him in. Enjoy.


10. Lincoln (2012)

It's pretty hard for any actor to stand out in an ensemble like this that features Daniel Day-Lewis in a title role. But when it comes to the small players, Spader definitely made one of the strongest impressions adding some much needed levity to an otherwise serious movie.


9. Stargate (1994)

Spader is an actor who usually plays up his confidence, so him taking on such an awkward Jeff Goldblum-esque character was very odd indeed. Not exactly the best casting choice I've ever seen, but he made it all work. He was one of the strongest aspects of an otherwise mediocre movie.


8. Crash (1996)

Another movie I wasn't crazy about, but I can't say I'm shocked that Spader was really well-suited to it. For whatever reason, he gets cast as very sexual people, and this is one of his more perverse ones. Understated as usual, Spader is the standout in this movie in a role that makes me very uncomfortable.


7. The Office (2011-2012)

The first time through, I had a hard time with this character. Initially pitched as a sort of replacement for Steve Carell, Spader instead took on a much smaller role as a hands-on CEO which wound up affording him opportunities to use his commanding presence to make everyone uncomfortable in completely different ways than Carell. Pretty funny and totally bizarre.


6. Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

I've never been too enthralled with the MCU, and one of the franchise's hugest problems (apart from all the movies being exactly the same, overuse of CGI, and just being generally forgettable) is in the villains. They just can't seem to get those right. Well, Spader (whose performance here is voice-only) is one of the big exceptions to that rule. Witty, intimidating, and a terrific bit of voice acting.


5. Pretty In Pink (1986)

Spader has played sleazy characters a lot over his career, but this one is one of my favorites. A rich asshole with little-to-no self-awareness or decency, this may be a fairly small supporting role, but Spader is so relaxed and casual in this role, it's hard to believe he isn't this way in person. One of the first movies he was ever in, but his performance is so natural, you'd never have guessed it.


4. The Blacklist (2013-present)

This is sort of a cheat pick as I'm still only on the first season of this show, but from all I've seen, this show is pretty decent and it's entirely due to Spader. Playing morally ambiguous and mysterious villains is pretty comfortable material for the guy, and his ability to steal a scene without saying a word is on display more here than anything else I've seen him in. It remains to be seen if this is too high or too low on this list, but as of right now, I stand by #4.


3. Wolf (1994)

I didn't much care for this movie, which is a huge bummer to me since the thought of seeing Jack Nicholson go all out in a werewolf movie sounded pretty amazing. Well, as it turns out Spader is actually the one who stole this movie, starting out the movie as the kind of sleazy corporate type he plays with ease, eventually devolving into something much more entertaining. This is a crazy, over-the-top performance and I loved every bit of it -- even if the move surrounding it was mostly just meh.


2. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Remember me mentioning the bizarre sexual performances Spader gives in a lot if his shows and movies? Well, in case I didn't, this is one of the more intriguing. While he's often a bit more overt about this, in this particular role he plays everything a lot close to the vest -- true to the introverted nature of his voyeuristic character. It's a remarkably subtle bit of acting, and the first movie I really loved him in.


1. Boston Legal (2004-2008)

The show overall is inconsistent, often unfunny, and pretty ham-handed, but I sat through all 101 episodes of it almost entirely for him. With most episodes featuring a long-winded, humorous, and deeply emotional closing monologue, you could count on Spader to give it his all every single time he showed up. While the writing wasn't always in his favor, in the courtroom (and in moments shared with William Shatner) he totally dominated the screen. Even when I disagreed with his politics or stances, his ability to totally enrapture me with his arguments and to infuse humor with some very dark topics in ways that never felt out of character or disingenuous made him a shining beacon in the show, and one of the most entertaining TV characters around.