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
- 2026 · By Any Means as
- 2025 · Zootopia 2 as Milton Lynxley (voice)
- 2025 · The Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 2025 · A Little Prayer as Bill
- 2025 · The Luckiest Man in America as Bill
- 2025 · O Horizon as Warren
- 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 · The Oedipus Project as Messenger 1
- 2020 · Interrogation as Henry Fisher
- 2019 · The Devil Has a Name as Fred Stern
- 2019 · Godzilla: King of the Monsters as Admiral William Stenz
- 2019 · Fast Color as Ellis
- 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 Debt as Nathan
- 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
- 2013 · Love, Marilyn as Self
- 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 · Howl as Ralph McIntosh
- 2010 · Inside Area 51's Secrets as Narrator
- 2010 · Temple Grandin as Professor Carlock
- 2010 · Matadors as Roman Lodari
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 2009 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 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 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2006 · We Are Marshall as President Dedmon
- 2006 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2006 · The Shovel as Paul Mullin
- 2005 · Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2005 · The Notorious Bettie Page as Estes Kefauver
- 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
- 2004 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 2001 · Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
- 2001 · The Victim as Mark Zingerline
- 2000 · The Miracle Worker as Captain Keller
- 2000 · Harrison's Flowers as Harrison Lloyd
- 1999 · Limbo as Joe Gastineau
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1999 · The Sopranos as Robert Wegler
- 1998 · The Giraffe as Charles Kaminski
- 1998 · Simon Birch as Rev. Russell
- 1998 · With Friends Like These as Armand Minetti
- 1998 · Evidence of Blood as Jackson Kinley
- 1998 · The Climb as Earl Himes
- 1997 · L.A. Confidential as Pierce Patchett
- 1997 · In the Gloaming as Martin
- 1996 · Mother Night as Bernard B. O'Hare
- 1996 · Beyond the Call as Russel Gates
- 1995 · Home for the Holidays as Russell Terziak
- 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 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 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
- 1992 · O Pioneers! as Carl Linstrum
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · The Feud as The Stranger
- 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
- 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
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- Future · The Bard as
- 2025 · This Ordinary Thing as Self (voice)
- 2023 · Remember This as Jan Karski
- 2020 · Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
- 2019 · Them That Work as Self
- 2018 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 2013 · Lincoln@Gettysburg as Narrator (voice)
- 2012 · Maladies as Delmar
- 2010 · Area 51 Declassified as Himself - Narrator
- 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 · Steel Toes as Danny Dunkelman
- 2007 · The Supreme Court as Narrator
- 2006 · The Sensation of Sight as Finn
- 2006 · The Human Behavior Experiments as Narrator
- 2005 · Missing in America as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2000 · A Good Baby as Truman Lester
- 2000 · Freedom Song as Peter Crowley
- 1999 · A Map of the World as Howard Goodwin
- 1998 · Bad Manners as Wes Westlund
- 1997 · Song of Hiawatha as Marcel
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1993 · Lost in Yonkers as Johnny
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 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
- Future · Babies as
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self