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 · Zootopia 2 as Milton Lynxley (voice)
- 2025 · The Luckiest Man in America as Bill
- 2024 · A Man on the Inside as Dr. Benjamin Cole
- 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 · UFO as Franklin Ahls
- 2018 · An Interview with God as God
- 2018 · McMafia as Semiyon Kleiman
- 2017 · Darkest Hour as President Roosevelt (voice)
- 2017 · November Criminals as Theo
- 2016 · American Pastoral as Nathan Zuckerman
- 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 Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Ty Burley
- 2014 · Clementine as Henry
- 2014 · Godzilla as Admiral William Stenz
- 2013 · The Blacklist as Peter Kotsiopulos
- 2012 · Lincoln as William Seward
- 2012 · Hemingway & Gellhorn as John Dos Passos
- 2012 · The Bourne Legacy as Noah Vosen
- 2011 · Alphas as Lee Rosen
- 2010 · The Whistleblower as Peter Ward
- 2010 · The Tempest as King Alonso
- 2010 · Temple Grandin as Professor Carlock
- 2010 · Matadors as Roman Lodari
- 2009 · The Uninvited as Steven
- 2008 · The Spiderwick Chronicles as Arthur Spiderwick
- 2007 · My Blueberry Nights as Arnie
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Noah Vosen
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2006 · We Are Marshall as President Dedmon
- 2006 · The Notorious Bettie Page as Estes Kefauver
- 2005 · Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2004 · House as Nash
- 2004 · Twisted as Dr. Melvin Frank
- 2004 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 2001 · The Victim as Mark Zingerline
- 2000 · Harrison's Flowers as Harrison Lloyd
- 1999 · A Map of the World as Howard Goodwin
- 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
- 1997 · L.A. Confidential as Pierce Patchett
- 1995 · Home for the Holidays as Russell Terziak
- 1995 · Dolores Claiborne as Joe St. George
- 1994 · The River Wild as Tom Hartman
- 1994 · April One as John McCowan
- 1993 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 1992 · Passion Fish as Rennie
- 1992 · Sneakers as Whistler
- 1992 · A League of Their Own as Ira Lowenstein
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 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
- 1986 · At Close Range as Tony Pine
- 1985 · Spenser: For Hire as
- 1985 · The Equalizer as Phillip Borchek
- 1984 · Miami Vice as Marty Lang
- 1984 · Iceman as Dr. Singe
- 1983 · Silkwood as Wesley
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self
- Future · By Any Means as
- 2025 · This Ordinary Thing as Self (voice)
- 2025 · The Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 2025 · A Little Prayer as Bill
- 2025 · O Horizon as Warren
- 2023 · Remember This as Jan Karski
- 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 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2015 · The Debt as Nathan
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 2013 · Lincoln@Gettysburg as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · Love, Marilyn as Self
- 2012 · Maladies as Delmar
- 2010 · Howl as Ralph McIntosh
- 2010 · Inside Area 51's Secrets as Narrator
- 2010 · Area 51 Declassified as Himself - Narrator
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 2009 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 2008 · Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
- 2008 · Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
- 2008 · The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 2007 · Trumbo as Self
- 2007 · Matters of Life and Death as Mr. Jennings
- 2007 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 2007 · Steel Toes as Danny Dunkelman
- 2007 · The Supreme Court as Narrator
- 2006 · The Sensation of Sight as Finn
- 2006 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2006 · The Human Behavior Experiments as Narrator
- 2006 · The Shovel as Paul Mullin
- 2005 · Willa Cather: The Road Is All as Narrator
- 2005 · Missing in America as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
- 2004 · Los Angeles Plays Itself as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 2001 · Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
- 2000 · A Good Baby as Truman Lester
- 2000 · The Miracle Worker as Captain Keller
- 2000 · Freedom Song as Peter Crowley
- 1998 · With Friends Like These as Armand Minetti
- 1998 · Evidence of Blood as Jackson Kinley
- 1998 · The Climb as Earl Himes
- 1997 · Song of Hiawatha as Marcel
- 1997 · In the Gloaming as Martin
- 1996 · Mother Night as Bernard B. O'Hare
- 1996 · Beyond the Call as Russel Gates
- 1995 · Losing Isaiah as Charles Lewin
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1993 · Lost in Yonkers as Johnny
- 1993 · The American Clock as Young Arthur Huntington
- 1992 · Bob Roberts as Mack Laflin
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1992 · O Pioneers! as Carl Linstrum
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · The Feud as The Stranger
- 1989 · Day One as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 1988 · Dominick and Eugene as Martin Chernak
- 1988 · Stars & Bars as Charlie
- 1987 · Broken Vows as Stuart Chase
- 1985 · When Nature Calls as Weejun
- 1984 · The Brother from Another Planet as Man In Black
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- Future · Babies as
- Future · The Bard as
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron