Whether you know him as evil ‘80s pretty boy, arthouse provocateur, or Robert California from The Office, James Spader has proven an immensely talented and idiosyncratic actor over his forty-year career. Today, Spader is most remembered for playing the “bad guy,” whether it be as a yuppie drug dealer, Marvel villain, or cunning criminal mastermind. However, even despite the pitfalls of typecasting, Spader has proven himself more than capable of portraying a variety of complex characters.
Spader’s acting career began all the way back in the early ‘80s, as Brooks Shields’ brother in the film Endless Love. Prior to this, Spader took on an assortment of odd jobs to make ends meet, such as bartending, driving a meat truck, and loading railroad cars. It wasn’t until the mid-’80s that Spader had his big break with John Hughes’s classic teen drama Pretty In Pink, playing entitled, selfish playboy, Steff. This launched Spader into a number of supporting roles throughout the ‘80s, playing similar characters. The ‘90s saw a bloom of more diverse material for Spader, and today he works primarily on TV. Before The Office and The Blacklist, he starred as lawyer Alan Shore in The Practice and Boston Legal from 2002-2008.
Spader has a reputation for being an enigmatic and very private person, which he has said certainly influences the work he chooses and gravitates towards. Here are some of Spader’s best performances to date, ranked.
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8 2 Days in The Valley (1996)
Metro-Goldwyn-MAyer
Many iterations of the hitman have been put to screen over the years, from Anton Chigurh, to the Bride, to Barry Berkman. In 2 Days in the Valley, essentially a crime satire whose plot is too labyrinthine to even begin describing, Spader puts his own unique, Spader-esque spin on the archetype. He is equal parts sadistic as he is sardonic. His main trademark is giving his victims exactly one minute to beg for mercy before he kills them. In this film, which easily could have become a cult classic upon a wider release, Spader adds a perfect element of evil yuppie coolness to the otherwise sprawling plot. 2 Days in The Valley, in itself, so difficult to put in a box, proved that Spader was more than capable of tackling a wide genre of films with his iconic persona.
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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 White Palace (1990)
Co-starring Susan Sarandon, White Palace follows Spader as a wealthy Jewish man, whose fiancé has recently passed away. Spader unexpectedly begins a romance with Sarandon, who is from a polar opposite universe than his — she is a working-class burger cook, willing to embrace life completely as it comes. Sarandon is also fantastic in the film, but the reason the pair’s relationship becomes so plausible and not cheesy romance fodder is because the two are willing to complement each other so well. Spader’s picture of a genuinely damaged man, as opposed to the icy yuppies he had played up until that point, is profoundly affecting. Due in large part to such authentic performances on either end, White Palace is one of the most haunting, yet sadly overlooked, romance films to have come out of the ’90s.
6 The Music of Chance (1993)
Trans Atlantic Entertainment
Based on Paul Auster’s postmodern novel, The Music of Chance is about a yuppie and a drifter who cross paths — only this time, Spader is not the yuppie. Instead, he is completely unrecognizable as the accent-wielding, mysterious gambler whom Mandy Patinkin picks up on the side of the road. The majority of the film follows the two opposing characters as they build a stone wall in order to repay a poker debt. Spader does exceptionally well with the strange premise of such a film, daring to put spin after spin on Auster’s original character. His devotion to the character and ability to translate the gambler accessibly to audiences makes The Music of Chance a well-worthwhile watch.
5 Pretty in Pink (1986)
Paramount pictures
In his role as inhumanly slimy rich kid Steff McKee, Spader established himself as a dark side to the ‘80s Brat pack. In the otherwise lighthearted and feel-good film, Spader is the only discernibly malicious character, who flaunts his wealth and puts everyone — including his best friend, Blane — down at whatever chance he gets. Instead of caricaturing this villain, exaggerating Steff’s ostentatious nature, Spader plays him with intimidating finesse. He is incredibly selfish and arrogant, yet smooth-talking, stylish, and looks great in huge sunglasses. Like other ‘80s teen films, some have argued that Pretty in Pink has grown pretty outdated over the years. However, if there’s one thing that viewers can agree on it’s that Spader makes the film.
4 Crash (1996)
New Line Cinema
An arthouse phenomenon known for its extremely bizarre premise, David Cronenberg’s Crash is certainly no easy film to sit through. One of the director’s most psychological films, it follows a group of car crash fetishists who live increasingly dangerous, edgy lifestyles as the movie progresses. Spader plates James Ballard, a bored film producer who rapidly falls into the grip of this cult of fetishists, and soon finds himself unable to mitigate his own true impulses and desires. Spader does not go over-the-top with the role, though, despite Crash’s extremely controversial nature. Rather, his performance is on-the-nose because it is so haunting and restrained. Spader explores the gaping chasms of an empty man, despite how, on a surface level, the film is flooded with so much sex and violence. Spader’s role here also established him as a true devotee to his craft—nothing is too unconventional or uncultivated for the seasoned actor.
3 Secretary (2002)
Lions Gate Films
Steven Shainberg’s Secretary takes the sexual nature of Crash and turns it completely on its head, in a portrait of sadomasochism that is somehow both endearing and comical. Maggie Gyllenhaal, in one of her best roles, stars as Lee Holloway, a shy, yet determined secretary who has just returned home from a stay at the mental hospital. Spader plays a frigid and demanding lawyer, who takes a peculiar interest in his new secretary — and the rest is history. What makes this a masterful performance from Spader is his ability to perfectly capture Shainberg’s intended tone for the film. Spader is harsh, but not too harsh, and ultimately blustering, clumsy, and is as much of a comedic relief as Gyllenhaal proves herself to be. No better actor than Spader could make Secretary such a quirky, touching love story.
2 The Blacklist (2013- Present)
NBC
As criminal mastermind Raymond “Red” Reddington, Spader couldn’t possibly be more ruthless, intimidating, and, believe it or not, charming. Spader’s natural ability to capture these traits at once is what nominated him for two Golden Globe Awards for the show (2014, 2015), and is at least part of the reason why The Blacklist has been renewed for a tenth season. In the role, Spader is as much a master storyteller as he is a master killer, delivering enticing monologues at every turn (which he often improvises on set). Spader’s performance never falters throughout the entirety of the series, and is indeed what has elevated it to perhaps prestige television status. Reddington is one of the most meticulously crafted, diabolical villains out there — and Spader makes us root for him.
1 Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
Miramax Films
Stephen Soderbergh’s debut feature, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, is all talk and style — features which do not detract from its meaning, but rather, enhance it. In the film, which consists of only four characters, Spader plays a mysterious drifter with a peculiar habit: he likes to videotape women talking about their sex lives (while he, himself remains practically impotent, unable to get an erection in front of other people). While this premise and Spader’s character might sound alarming, even disturbing to some, what makes Sex, Lies, and Videotape so mesmerizing is the soulful underbelly behind its sleek, modern exterior. Spader does not embrace his character as a “creep,” but rather as a challenged human who shields himself from the world in ways that directly mirror the protagonists. His performance here is haunting, almost ethereal, in a way that has rarely been achieved in such films since, winning him a Best Male Lead award at Cannes in 1990.
