David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (born January 26, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of journalist Edward R. Murrow in the feature film Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He also starred in L.A. Confidential (1997), Godzilla (2014), and the Bourne franchise (2007–2012). Strathairn appeared in supporting roles in many notable films such as A League of Their Own (1992), Sneakers (1992), The Firm (1993), The River Wild (1995), Lincoln (2012), Nomadland (2020), and Nightmare Alley (2021). He is a frequent collaborator with director John Sayles, who is a fellow graduate of Williams College. On television, Strathairn is known for his recurring roles in The Sopranos (2004), Alphas (2011–2012), The Blacklist (2015–2016), Billions (2017–2019), and The Expanse (2018–2019). He received a Primetime Emmy Award win and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in the HBO television film Temple Grandin (2010).
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · This Ordinary Thing as Self (voice)
- 2025 · A Little Prayer as Bill
- 2020 · The Oedipus Project as Messenger 1
- 2020 · Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
- 2019 · Them That Work as Self
- 2019 · The Devil Has a Name as Fred Stern
- 2019 · Fast Color as Ellis
- 2018 · UFO as Franklin Ahls
- 2017 · November Criminals as Theo
- 2012 · Hemingway & Gellhorn as John Dos Passos
- 2010 · Howl as Ralph McIntosh
- 2010 · Matadors as Roman Lodari
- 2009 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 2008 · Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
- 2007 · Trumbo as Self
- 2006 · The Sensation of Sight as Finn
- 2006 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2006 · The Notorious Bettie Page as Estes Kefauver
- 2005 · Missing in America as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
- 2004 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 2001 · Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
- 1999 · A Map of the World as Howard Goodwin
- 1998 · With Friends Like These as Armand Minetti
- 1998 · Evidence of Blood as Jackson Kinley
- 1997 · Song of Hiawatha as Marcel
- 1997 · In the Gloaming as Martin
- 1995 · Home for the Holidays as Russell Terziak
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1992 · O Pioneers! as Carl Linstrum
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · The Feud as The Stranger
- 1988 · Stars & Bars as Charlie
- 1988 · Dominick and Eugene as Martin Chernak
- Future · By Any Means as
- 2026 · Stages as Porter Gates
- 2025 · Zootopia 2 as Milton Lynxley (voice)
- 2025 · The Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 2025 · The Luckiest Man in America as Bill
- 2025 · O Horizon as Warren
- 2024 · A Man on the Inside as Dr. Benjamin Cole
- 2023 · Remember This as Jan Karski
- 2022 · Where the Crawdads Sing as Tom Milton
- 2021 · Nightmare Alley as Pete
- 2021 · Nomadland as Dave
- 2020 · Interrogation as Henry Fisher
- 2019 · Godzilla: King of the Monsters as Admiral William Stenz
- 2018 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 2018 · An Interview with God as God
- 2018 · McMafia as Semiyon Kleiman
- 2017 · Darkest Hour as President Roosevelt (voice)
- 2016 · American Pastoral as Nathan Zuckerman
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2016 · Billions as Black Jack Foley
- 2015 · The Expanse as Commander Klaes Ashford
- 2015 · The Expanse as Klaes Ashford
- 2015 · Z: The Beginning of Everything as Anthony Sayre
- 2015 · Louder Than Bombs as Richard Weissman
- 2015 · The Debt as Nathan
- 2015 · The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Ty Burley
- 2014 · Godzilla as Admiral William Stenz
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 2013 · Lincoln@Gettysburg as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · The Blacklist as Peter Kotsiopulos
- 2013 · Love, Marilyn as Self
- 2012 · Lincoln as William Seward
- 2012 · The Bourne Legacy as Noah Vosen
- 2012 · Maladies as Delmar
- 2011 · Alphas as Lee Rosen
- 2010 · The Whistleblower as Peter Ward
- 2010 · The Tempest as King Alonso
- 2010 · Inside Area 51's Secrets as Narrator
- 2010 · Area 51 Declassified as Himself - Narrator
- 2010 · Temple Grandin as Professor Carlock
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 2009 · The Uninvited as Steven
- 2008 · Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
- 2008 · The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 2008 · The Spiderwick Chronicles as Arthur Spiderwick
- 2007 · My Blueberry Nights as Arnie
- 2007 · Matters of Life and Death as Mr. Jennings
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Noah Vosen
- 2007 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 2007 · Steel Toes as Danny Dunkelman
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2007 · The Supreme Court as Narrator
- 2006 · We Are Marshall as President Dedmon
- 2006 · The Human Behavior Experiments as Narrator
- 2006 · The Shovel as Paul Mullin
- 2005 · Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2005 · Willa Cather: The Road Is All as Narrator
- 2004 · House as Nash
- 2004 · Los Angeles Plays Itself as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
- 2004 · Twisted as Dr. Melvin Frank
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 2001 · The Victim as Mark Zingerline
- 2000 · A Good Baby as Truman Lester
- 2000 · The Miracle Worker as Captain Keller
- 2000 · Harrison's Flowers as Harrison Lloyd
- 2000 · Freedom Song as Peter Crowley
- 1999 · Limbo as Joe Gastineau
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1999 · The Sopranos as Robert Wegler
- 1998 · Bad Manners as Wes Westlund
- 1998 · The Giraffe as Charles Kaminski
- 1998 · Simon Birch as Rev. Russell
- 1998 · The Climb as Earl Himes
- 1997 · L.A. Confidential as Pierce Patchett
- 1996 · Mother Night as Bernard B. O'Hare
- 1996 · Beyond the Call as Russel Gates
- 1995 · Dolores Claiborne as Joe St. George
- 1995 · Losing Isaiah as Charles Lewin
- 1994 · The River Wild as Tom Hartman
- 1994 · April One as John McCowan
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1993 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 1993 · Lost in Yonkers as Johnny
- 1993 · The American Clock as Young Arthur Huntington
- 1992 · Passion Fish as Rennie
- 1992 · Sneakers as Whistler
- 1992 · Bob Roberts as Mack Laflin
- 1992 · A League of Their Own as Ira Lowenstein
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 1989 · Day One as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 1988 · Eight Men Out as Eddie Cicotte
- 1988 · Call Me as Sam
- 1987 · Wiseguy as
- 1987 · Matewan as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
- 1987 · The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Moss Goodman
- 1987 · Broken Vows as Stuart Chase
- 1986 · At Close Range as Tony Pine
- 1985 · Spenser: For Hire as
- 1985 · The Equalizer as Phillip Borchek
- 1985 · When Nature Calls as Weejun
- 1984 · Miami Vice as Marty Lang
- 1984 · The Brother from Another Planet as Man In Black
- 1984 · Iceman as Dr. Singe
- 1983 · Silkwood as Wesley
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self
- Future · Babies as
- Future · The Bard as