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 Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 2025 · The Luckiest Man in America as Bill
- 2022 · Where the Crawdads Sing as Tom Milton
- 2021 · Nightmare Alley as Pete
- 2021 · Nomadland as Dave
- 2020 · Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
- 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 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 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 · The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Ty Burley
- 2014 · Godzilla as Admiral William Stenz
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 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 · Temple Grandin as Professor Carlock
- 2010 · Matadors as Roman Lodari
- 2009 · The Uninvited as Steven
- 2008 · The Spiderwick Chronicles as Arthur Spiderwick
- 2007 · Trumbo as Self
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Noah Vosen
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2006 · We Are Marshall as President Dedmon
- 2005 · Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2005 · The Notorious Bettie Page as Estes Kefauver
- 2005 · Missing in America as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
- 2004 · House as Nash
- 2004 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 2000 · Harrison's Flowers as Harrison Lloyd
- 2000 · Freedom Song as Peter Crowley
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1999 · The Sopranos as Robert Wegler
- 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
- 1996 · Mother Night as Bernard B. O'Hare
- 1995 · Dolores Claiborne as Joe St. George
- 1995 · Losing Isaiah as Charles Lewin
- 1994 · April One as John McCowan
- 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
- 1992 · O Pioneers! as Carl Linstrum
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · The Feud as The Stranger
- 1988 · Eight Men Out as Eddie Cicotte
- 1988 · Call Me as Sam
- 1988 · Dominick and Eugene as Martin Chernak
- 1987 · Wiseguy as
- 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
- 1984 · Miami Vice as
- 1984 · The Brother from Another Planet as Man In Black
- 1984 · Iceman as Dr. Singe
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- Future · By Any Means as
- 2009 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 2007 · My Blueberry Nights as Arnie
- 2007 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 2006 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2004 · Twisted as Dr. Melvin Frank
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2001 · Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
- 2000 · The Miracle Worker as Captain Keller
- 1999 · Limbo as Joe Gastineau
- 1998 · The Giraffe as Charles Kaminski
- 1998 · Simon Birch as Rev. Russell
- 1997 · In the Gloaming as Martin
- 1995 · Home for the Holidays as Russell Terziak
- 1994 · The River Wild as Tom Hartman
- 1993 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1989 · Day One as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 1987 · Matewan as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
- 1983 · Silkwood as Wesley
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self
- Future · The Bard as
- 2025 · A Little Prayer as Bill
- 2025 · O Horizon as Warren
- 2023 · Remember This as Jan Karski
- 2020 · The Oedipus Project as Messenger 1
- 2019 · Them That Work as Self
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2015 · Louder Than Bombs as Richard Weissman
- 2015 · The Debt as Nathan
- 2013 · Lincoln@Gettysburg as Narrator (voice)
- 2012 · Maladies as Delmar
- 2010 · Inside Area 51's Secrets as Narrator
- 2010 · Area 51 Declassified as Himself - Narrator
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 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 · 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
- 2006 · The Shovel as Paul Mullin
- 2005 · Willa Cather: The Road Is All as Narrator
- 2004 · Los Angeles Plays Itself as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2001 · The Victim as Mark Zingerline
- 2000 · A Good Baby as Truman Lester
- 1999 · A Map of the World as Howard Goodwin
- 1998 · Bad Manners as Wes Westlund
- 1997 · Song of Hiawatha as Marcel
- 1996 · Beyond the Call as Russel Gates
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1988 · Stars & Bars as Charlie
- 1985 · When Nature Calls as Weejun