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