David Strathairn

Highest Rated: 100% Temple Grandin (2010)

Lowest Rated: 0% November Criminals (2017)

Birthday: Jan 26, 1949

Birthplace: San Francisco, California

One of the more underrated actors in Hollywood, tall, soft-spoken David Straithairn has earned almost consistent critical appreciation for his work in a number of films, most notably his many collaborations with director John Sayles. Born in San Francisco on January 26, 1949, Straithairn gained an entrance into acting via his days at Williams College. It was there that he met fellow student Sayles, and the two had their first collaboration with Return of the Seacaucus Seven. The 1980 film, which told the story of a group of friends reuniting after college, inspired a number of similar efforts, including The Big Chill. Following his debut, the actor -- whose additional performing experience came from his training at the Ringling Brothers Clown College -- appeared in supporting roles in a number of films, including Silkwood (1983) and Dominick and Eugene (1988). He continued to collaborate with Sayles, acting in The Brother From Another Planet (1984), Matewan, (1987), and Eight Men Out (1988). Straithairn was also introduced to television audiences with his role as bookstore owner Moss Goodman on the popular dramedy series Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.In the 1990s, Straithairn had prominent roles in a number of critically acclaimed films and television miniseries. In addition to his continuing work with Sayles, in 1991's City of Hope and Passion Fish (1992), the actor lent his talents to such films as Bob Roberts (1992), Sneakers (also 1992), The River Wild (a 1994 film which reunited him with Silkwood co-star Meryl Streep), and Losing Isaiah (1995). He also appeared in miniseries such as the 1991 O Pioneers! and In the Gloaming (1997), in which he played the father of an AIDS-stricken Robert Sean Leonard. In 1997, Straithairn had a memorable turn as a high-class pimp with a dodgy mustache in the wildly lauded L.A. Confidential and after a supporting role in Simon Birch (1998), once again collaborated with Sayles, this time playing a fisherman with a past in the 1999 Limbo. He remained one of the most respected character actors of his generation appearing as the father in the remake of The Miracle Worker, and starring in the drama Blue Car as a manipulative teacher. In 2005 he garnered an Oscar nomination and the biggest high-profile success of his career playing Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck. He followed up that success with appearances in such films as We Are Marshall, The Bourne Ultimatum, Howl, and Temple Grandin. In 2012 he was cast in Steven Spielberg's long-planned biopic Lincoln as William Seward.

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

Movies

		Credit
42%	Godzilla: King of the Monsters	Admiral William Stenz	—	2019
82%	Fast Color	Ellis	—	2019
No Score Yet	Nomadland	Actor	—	2019
No Score Yet	Una entrevista con Dios	The Man	—	2018
83%	My Dinner with Hervé	Marty Rothstein	—	2018
No Score Yet	UFO	Franklin Ahls	—	2018
0%	November Criminals	Theo Schacht	—	2017
22%	American Pastoral	Nathan Zuckerman	$0.6M	2016
44%	The Debt (Oliver's Deal)	Nathan	—	2016
73%	Louder Than Bombs	Richard	—	2016
65%	The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	Ty Burley	$39M	2015
75%	Godzilla	Admiral William Stenz	$173M	2014
73%	No God, No Master	William Flynn	—	2014
5%	Maladies	Delmar	—	2014
No Score Yet	Lincoln@Gettysburg	Actor	—	2013
No Score Yet	Root	Actor	—	2013
89%	Lincoln	William Seward	$129.5M	2012
56%	The Bourne Legacy	Noah Vosen	$113.2M	2012
50%	Hemingway & Gellhorn	John Dos Passo	—	2012
75%	The Whistleblower	Peter Ward	$1M	2011
30%	The Tempest	King Alonso	$0.3M	2010
63%	Howl	Ralph McIntosh	$0.7M	2010
100%	Temple Grandin	Dr. Carlock	—	2010
75%	Cold Souls	Dr. Flintstein	$0.8M	2009
31%	The Uninvited	Steven	$28.6M	2009
No Score Yet	The People Speak	Actor	—	2009
50%	The Sensation of Sight	Finn Producer	—	2008
80%	The Spiderwick Chronicles	Arthur Spiderwick	$71.2M	2008
83%	Trumbo	Actor	$28.6K	2007
92%	The Bourne Ultimatum	Noah Vosen	$227.5M	2007
No Score Yet	Racing Daylight	Henry	—	2007
No Score Yet	Steel Toes	Danny Dunckelman	—	2007
46%	My Blueberry Nights	Arnie	$0.8M	2007
71%	Fracture	Joe Lobruto	$39.1M	2007
49%	We Are Marshall	President Dedmon	$43.6M	2006
No Score Yet	Heavens Fall	Judge James Horton	—	2006
57%	The Notorious Bettie Page	Estes Kefauver	$1.4M	2006
93%	Good Night, And Good Luck	Edward R. Murrow	$31.6M	2005
No Score Yet	Missing in America	Henry R. Hocknell Jr.	—	2005
No Score Yet	Willa Cather: The Road is All	Narrator	—	2005
No Score Yet	Paradise	Bobby Paradise	—	2004
1%	Twisted	Dr. Melvin Frank	$25.1M	2004
80%	Blue Car	Auster	—	2003
No Score Yet	Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story	Jack Hoschouer	—	2002
No Score Yet	Master Spy: The Life Of Robert P. Hanssen	Actor	—	2002
No Score Yet	Lathe of Heaven	Mannie	—	2002
49%	Harrison's Flowers	Harrison Lloyd	$1.7M	2002
No Score Yet	Lathe of Heaven	Actor	—	2002
No Score Yet	Ball in the House (Relative Evil)	Dr. Charlie	—	2001
No Score Yet	Speakeasy	Bruce Hickman	—	2001
No Score Yet	The Miracle Worker	Arthur Keller	—	2000
No Score Yet	Freedom Song	Peter Crowley	—	2000
No Score Yet	The Giraffe (Meschugge)	Actor	—	2000
65%	A Map of the World	Howard Goodwin	—	1999
No Score Yet	A Good Baby	Truman	—	1999
72%	Limbo	Joe Gastineau	—	1999
67%	William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'	Theseus	—	1999
No Score Yet	A Hero's Climb	Earl Himes	—	1999
85%	Bad Manners	Wes	—	1998
44%	Simon Birch	Rev. Russell	—	1998
50%	With Friends Like These	Armand Minetti	—	1998
No Score Yet	Evidence of Blood	Jackson Kinley	—	1998
99%	L.A. Confidential	Pierce Patchett	—	1997
No Score Yet	In the Gloaming	Martin	—	1997
No Score Yet	Song of Hiawatha	Marcel	—	1997
63%	Mother Night	Bernard B. O'Hare	—	1996
No Score Yet	Beyond the Call	Russell Cates	—	1996
63%	Home for the Holidays	Russell Terziak	—	1995
84%	Dolores Claiborne	Joe St. George	—	1995
45%	Losing Isaiah	Charles Lewin	—	1995
56%	The River Wild	Tom	—	1994
55%	A Dangerous Woman	Getso	—	1993
75%	The Firm	Ray McDeere	—	1993
71%	Lost in Yonkers	Johnny	—	1993
No Score Yet	Benny Goodman: Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing	Narrator	—	1993
No Score Yet	The American Clock	Young Arthur Huntington	—	1993
100%	Passion Fish	Rennie	—	1992
78%	Sneakers	Whistler	—	1992
97%	Bob Roberts	Bug's Attorney Mack Laflin	—	1992
78%	A League of Their Own	Ira Lowenstein	—	1992
No Score Yet	Big Girls Don't Cry...They Get Even	Keith	—	1992
50%	Shadows and Fog	Actor	—	1992
94%	City of Hope	Asteroid	—	1991
No Score Yet	Without Warning: The James Brady Story	Dr. Arthur Korine	—	1991
No Score Yet	O Pioneers	Carl Linstrum	—	1991
No Score Yet	Son of the Morning Star	Actor	—	1991
No Score Yet	Judgment	Father Frank Aubert	—	1990
67%	Memphis Belle	Commanding Officer	—	1990
No Score Yet	Heat Wave	Bill	—	1990
No Score Yet	Day One	J. Robert Oppenheimer	—	1989
No Score Yet	The Feud	The Stranger	—	1989
86%	Eight Men Out	Eddie Cicotte	—	1988
No Score Yet	Call Me	Sam	—	1988
80%	Dominick and Eugene	Martin Chernak	—	1988
No Score Yet	Stars and Bars	Charlie	—	1988
94%	Matewan: A Luta Final	Sid Hatfield	—	1987
No Score Yet	Broken Vows	Stuart Chase	—	1986
87%	At Close Range	Tony Pine	—	1986
No Score Yet	When Nature Calls (The Outdoorsters)	Weejun	—	1985
89%	The Brother from Another Planet	Man In Black	—	1984
No Score Yet	Iceman	Dr. Singe	—	1984
74%	Silkwood	Wesley	—	1983
40%	Lovesick	Marvin Zuckerman	—	1983
No Score Yet	Enormous Changes at the Last Minute	Jerry	—	1983
81%	Return of the Secaucus Seven	Ron	—	1980

TV

		Credit
40%	Interrogation 2020	Henry Fisher	2020
70%	McMafia 2018	Semiyon Kleiman	2018
69%	Z: The Beginning of Everything 2015-2017	Judge Anthony Dickerson Sayre	2017 2015
91%	The Blacklist 2013	The Director	2015 2014 2013
81%	Alphas 2011-2012	Dr. Lee Rosen Dr. Leigh Rosen	2012 2011
91%	House 2004-2012	Nash	2010 2007
No Score Yet	American Experience 1988	J. Robert Oppenheimer	2009
90%	Monk 2002-2009	Patrick Kloster	2008
No Score Yet	American Masters 2001	Narrator	2005
92%	The Sopranos 1999-2007	Robert Wegler	2004
No Score Yet	Wiseguy 1987-1990	Matthew Stemkowsky Stem	1990 1988

QUOTES FROM David Strathairn CHARACTERS

Edward R. Murrow says: We're gonna go with the story, because the terror is in this room.

Admiral William Stenz says: This alpha predator of yours doctor, do you really think he has a chance?

Dr. Ishiro Seriwaza says: The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control, and not the other way around. Let them fight.

Edward R. Murrow says: You always were yellea.

Fred Friendly says: Yeah well it's better than being red.

Noah Vosen says: Perhaps we can arrange a meet.

Jason Bourne says: Where are you know?

Jason Bourne says: Where are you now?

Noah Vosen says: I'm sitting in my office.

Jason Bourne says: I doubt that.

Noah Vosen says: Why would you doubt that?

Jason Bourne says: If you were in your office right now we'd be having this conversation face to face.

William Seward says: It's ither the amendment or this confederate peace, you can not have both.

William Seward says: It's either the amendment or this confederate peace, you can not have both.

Henry says: Now, I'm content to watch Sadie racing daylight, trying to reach my arms before the light fads behind the trees.

Henry says: You know when people hang around like this, you have to think that their waiting for something.

Henry says: It's like a game of chess. But that's a game that should only be played on a board, not with people, don't you think?

Henry says: There was this lady from West Virginia, her name was Brown. Had twenty three children and sixteen of them were boys. All joined the Union Army and all gone.

Jason Bourne says: Get some rest Pam. You look tired.

Noah Vosen says: He's looking right at her!

Jason Bourne says: Where are you now?

Noah Vosen says: I'm sitting in my office.

Jason Bourne says: I doubt that.

Noah Vosen says: Why would you doubt that?

Jason Bourne says: If you were in your office right now we'd be having this conversation face-to-face.

Jason Bourne says: You didn't really think I was coming to Tudor City, did you?

Noah Vosen says: No. I guess not.

Edward R. Murrow says: Good night, and good luck.

Ira Lowenstein says: Great game, Jimmy. I especially liked that move in the seventh inning when you scratched your balls for an hour.

Jimmy Dugan says: Well, anything worth doing is worth doing right. [spits]

Judge James Horton says: let justice be done, though heavens fall

Judge James Horton says: Let justice be done though the heavens fall.

Edward R. Murrow says: Good night, and good luck.

Edward R. Murrow says: We will not walk in fear, one of another.