David Strathairn
Birthdate
January 26, 1949 (76 years old)
Place of Birth
San Francisco, California, USA
Known For
Acting
Details
Birthdate
January 26, 1949 (76 years old)
Place of Birth
San Francisco, California, USA
Known For
Acting
Biography
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).
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).
David Strathairn's LGBTQ+ Titles
Howl
Ralph McIntosh
Acting (148)
By Any Means
The Bard
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
2023
Remember This as Jan Karski
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
Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
2020
Interrogation as Henry Fisher (10 episodes)
2019
Them That Work as Self
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 (7 episodes)
2017
Darkest Hour as President Roosevelt (voice)
2017
November Criminals as Theo
2016
American Pastoral as Nathan Zuckerman
2016
He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
2015
The Expanse as Commander Klaes Ashford (6 episodes)
2015
The Expanse as Klaes Ashford (7 episodes)
2015
Z: The Beginning of Everything as Anthony Sayre (10 episodes)
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 Narrator (voice)
2013
The Blacklist as Peter Kotsiopulos (12 episodes)
2013
Love, Marilyn as Self
2012
Lincoln as William Seward
2012
Hemingway & Gellhorn as John Dos Passos
2012
The Bourne Legacy as Noah Vosen
2012
Maladies as Delmar
2011
Alphas as Lee Rosen (24 episodes)
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
Area 51 Declassified as Himself - 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
Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
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
Trumbo as Self
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 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
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
2005
Missing in America as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
2004
House as Nash (1 episode)
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
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
Monk as Patrick Kloster (1 episode)
2002
Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
2001
Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
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
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 (3 episodes)
1998
Bad Manners as Wes Westlund
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
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
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
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
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
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
1988
Dominick and Eugene as Martin Chernak
1988
Stars & Bars as Charlie
1987
Wiseguy (2 episodes)
1987
Matewan as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
1987
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Moss Goodman (20 episodes)
1987
Broken Vows as Stuart Chase
1986
At Close Range as Tony Pine
1985
Spenser: For Hire (1 episode)
1985
The Equalizer as Phillip Borchek (1 episode)
1985
When Nature Calls as Weejun
1984
Miami Vice (1 episode)
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 (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum (1 episode)
1949
The Emmy Awards as Self (1 episode)
Production (1)
2006
The Sensation of Sight
• Producer