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 · This Ordinary Thing as Voice
- 2025 · Zootopia 2 as Milton Lynxley (voice)
- 2025 · The Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 2025 · The Luckiest Man in America as Bill
- 2025 · O Horizon as Warren
- 2024 · A Man on the Inside as Dr. Benjamin Cole
- 2022 · Where the Crawdads Sing as Tom Milton
- 2021 · Nightmare Alley as Pete
- 2021 · Nomadland as Dave
- 2019 · Godzilla: King of the Monsters as Admiral William Stenz
- 2019 · Fast Color as Ellis
- 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 · The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Ty Burley
- 2014 · Godzilla as Admiral William Stenz
- 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 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 2009 · The Uninvited as Steven
- 2008 · The Spiderwick Chronicles as Arthur Spiderwick
- 2007 · My Blueberry Nights as Arnie
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Noah Vosen
- 2007 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2006 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2004 · House as Nash
- 2004 · Twisted as Dr. Melvin Frank
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 2001 · Relative Evil as Dr. Charlie
- 2001 · The Victim as Mark Zingerline
- 2000 · The Miracle Worker as Captain Keller
- 1999 · Limbo as Joe Gastineau
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1999 · The Sopranos as Robert Wegler
- 1998 · Simon Birch as Rev. Russell
- 1998 · The Climb as Earl Himes
- 1997 · L.A. Confidential as Pierce Patchett
- 1995 · Home for the Holidays as Russell Terziak
- 1995 · Losing Isaiah as Charles Lewin
- 1994 · The River Wild as Tom Hartman
- 1994 · April One as John McCowan
- 1993 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 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
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · Day One as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 1988 · Stars & Bars as Charlie
- 1987 · Wiseguy as
- 1987 · Matewan as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
- 1987 · The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Moss Goodman
- 1985 · Spenser: For Hire as
- 1985 · The Equalizer as Phillip Borchek
- 1984 · Miami Vice as Marty Lang
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- Future · The Bard as
- 2025 · A Little Prayer as Bill
- 2023 · Remember This as Jan Karski
- 2020 · The Oedipus Project as Messenger 1
- 2020 · Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
- 2020 · Interrogation as Henry Fisher
- 2019 · Them That Work as Self
- 2019 · The Devil Has a Name as Fred Stern
- 2018 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2015 · Z: The Beginning of Everything as Anthony Sayre
- 2015 · Louder Than Bombs as Richard Weissman
- 2015 · The Debt as Nathan
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 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 · Trumbo as Self
- 2007 · Matters of Life and Death as Mr. Jennings
- 2007 · Steel Toes as Danny Dunkelman
- 2007 · The Supreme Court as Narrator
- 2006 · We Are Marshall as President Dedmon
- 2006 · The Sensation of Sight as Finn
- 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 · Los Angeles Plays Itself as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
- 2004 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 2000 · A Good Baby as Truman Lester
- 2000 · Harrison's Flowers as Harrison Lloyd
- 2000 · Freedom Song as Peter Crowley
- 1999 · A Map of the World as Howard Goodwin
- 1998 · Bad Manners as Wes Westlund
- 1998 · The Giraffe as Charles Kaminski
- 1998 · With Friends Like These as Armand Minetti
- 1998 · Evidence of Blood as Jackson Kinley
- 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 · Dolores Claiborne as Joe St. George
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1993 · Lost in Yonkers as Johnny
- 1993 · The American Clock as Young Arthur Huntington
- 1992 · Passion Fish as Rennie
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 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 · Broken Vows as Stuart Chase
- 1986 · At Close Range as Tony Pine
- 1985 · When Nature Calls as Weejun
- 1984 · The Brother from Another Planet as Man In Black
- 1984 · Iceman as Dr. Singe
- 1983 · Silkwood as Wesley
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self
- Future · By Any Means as