Summary
- James Spader's success on TV, particularly in "The Blacklist," has significantly contributed to his $30 million net worth.
- Spader's financial responsibility, or lack thereof, influenced his career choices, including taking well-paying TV roles.
- Spader's career trajectory showcases his versatility as an actor, from playing villains in '80s films to leading roles on television.
To say James Spader is a versatile actor is an understatement, though his most recent project, Spader take on memorable roles in Crash and Secretary. However, Spader has found the most the most success on TV, and has become known for playing Alan Shore in The Practice and Boston Legal, and of course, Raymond "Red" Reddington in The Blacklist.
The youngest of three children, Spader was born in Boston to two teachers, Jean and Stoddard "Todd" Greenwood Spader (via Rolling Stone). Spader married his first wife, decorator Victoria Kheel, in 1987 after meeting her at a yoga studio in New York City, where Spader was working at the time (via The US Sun). They divorced in 2004 and have two sons together. The actor has been with his partner, actress Lesli Stefanson, since 2002, and they share a son.
The Blacklist Cast & Character Guide
The Blacklist has been running for many seasons, and the show has seen countless talented actors come and go from its cast over the years.
James Spader's Net Worth
The Blacklist Star Is Worth $30 Million
James Spader has a net worth of approximately $30 million, with a large portion of his wealth coming from his work on The Blacklist. all 218 Blacklist episodes, he made millions off the series.
While it seems like Spader was having the time of his life playing the unscrupulous yet charming Red Reddington, finances may have been his main reason for g on to The Blacklist. In an interview with The Guardian, he itted to not being great with money:
There are some actors who are very good at developing things. Who have… ‘things in the pipeline’. I am abysmal at that kind of thing, loathe it and am a terrible planner. Unless I’m showing up on the set and acting I prefer to have nothing to do with the actual business of being an actor... I have a history. I am not very responsible economically. I have a history working on films for years and years, and by the time I was starting the next film I was starting from zero again. Television is the best earner. So the idea of knowing that the bills are going to be paid…
This may explain Spader's other stints on television, playing lawyer Alan Shore on both The Practice and Boston Legal from 2003-2008, and of course, the eccentric Robert California in The Office from 2011-2012. Spader's MCU appearance as Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron likely gave the actor a hefty paycheck too. And though some, if not all of these roles may have been financially motivated on Spader's part, he knocked them out of the park every time.
James Spader's Notable Movie & TV Roles |
|
|---|---|
Title |
Character |
Pretty in Pink (1986) |
Steff |
Less Than Zero (1987) |
Rip |
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) |
Graham Dalton |
Crash (1996) |
James Ballard |
Secretary (2002) |
E. Edward Grey |
The Practice (2003-2004) |
Alan Shore |
Boston Legal (2004-2008) |
Alan Shore |
The Office (2011-2012) |
Robert California |
The Blacklist (2013-2023) |
Raymond "Red" Reddington |
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) |
Ultron |
James Spader's Age & Height
As A Creative Aquarius, Spader Fits His Zodiac Sign
Born on February 7, 1960, James Spader turned 64 years old in the winter of 2024. Those with birthdays in early February fall under the Aquarius sign, the final air sign in the zodiac, represented by the water bearer. Aquarians are highly creative and rebellious people (via Allure), and this perfectly describes the unpredictable actor. His array of projects, from '80s teen movies to indie cult classics to network television, scream Aquarius.
The eleventh zodiac sign is also considered "larger than life" which is true for Spader in personality, though not necessarily in height. His IMDb page lists him at 5' 9¾", though other sites round him up to 5' 10". This is slightly above average for a man, which means that Spader's characters aren't defined by how tall they are. The actor has played everyone from a lawyer with unconventional sexual proclivities in Secretary to one of television's wittiest criminals in The Blacklist, with the focus entirely on his screen presence, not his height.
James Spader Dropped Out Of School At The Age Of 17
He Worked Odd Jobs In NYC As He Tried To Launch His Acting Career
In his youth, James Spader attended various private schools in Massachusetts, including the Pike School (where his mother was an art teacher), the Brooks School, (where his father was an English teacher), and the Phillips Academy. But despite being from an academic family, education wasn't a priority for Spader, though it was at the Phillips Academy where he was bitten by the acting bug. There, he enjoyed performing in stage plays and thus, the 17-year-old Spader decided to drop out of school and try to make it is an actor in New York City.
In his Rolling Stone interview, Spader confessed to falling asleep in the yoga classes he was meant to be teaching — "The lights were turned down, the heat was turned up."
To pay his way, Spader worked a series of odd jobs and was everything from a stable boy to a yoga teacher. This is hardly a unique origin story for an actor, but when Hollywood did come calling, James Spader launched a career that was truly unlike anybody else's, and audiences are all the better for it
The Blacklist
- Release Date
- 2013 - 2023-00-00
- Network
- NBC
- Showrunner
- Jon Bokenkamp
Cast
Harry Lennix
Megan Boone
WHERE TO WATCH
The Blacklist is an action/thriller crime-drama TV series on NBC from creator Jon Bokenkamp. The show follows former intelligence officer turned master criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and FBI agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone.) Red, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, known as “The Concierge of Crime,” mysteriously surrenders to the FBI and offers to help them catch a deadly terrorist, with the condition that he only speaks to Elizabeth- who just so happens to be starting her first day on the job. The two continue to partner to tackle Red's "Blacklist," which he offers in exchange for immunity for his past crimes.
- Seasons
- 10
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