Award-winning actor James Spader was born on February 7, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a student of Phillips Academy in Andover, but later dropped out to pursue an acting career. He moved to New York City to train at the Michael Chekhov School, and then worked a variety of odd jobs to sustain himself before focusing on acting exclusively.
Spader made his film debut in 1981, appearing as the brother of Brooke Shields’ character in Endless Love. It was six years later, however, when he rose to stardom; he appeared in the comedy Pretty in Pink as “richie” kid Steff McKee, who constantly harasses the lead, fashion-conscious New Wave girl Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald). After supporting roles in Mannequin, Baby Boom and Wall Street, his reputation as an actor shot up, when he starred in the independent film Sex, Lies and Videotape. His role as sexual voyeur Graham Dalton earned him the Best Actor award from the Cannes Film Festival in 1989, where it was premiered.
At the back of his new-found critical success, Spader appeared in more critically-acclaimed films, including White Palace, True Colors, The Music of Chance, 2 Days in the Valley, Secretary and Speaking of Sex. He rarely appeared in the mainstream; his only notable mainstream success was the 1994 science fiction film Stargate, as well as guest roles in Seinfeld and Frasier. In 2003, he took his first regular television role, joining the final season of The Practice as talented but unethical lawyer Alan Shore. He reprised the role in its spin-off series, Boston Legal, which premiered in 2004. His portrayal of the character on both series earned him four Emmy nominations, three of which he won—one for The Practice in 2004, and two for Boston Legal in 2005 and 2007, all for Best Drama Actor. He is one of the few actors to have won the same Emmy for two programs playing the same character.