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 · Zootopia 2 as Milton Lynxley (voice)
- 2025 · The Gettysburg Address as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
- 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
- 2020 · The Oedipus Project as Messenger 1
- 2020 · Interrogation as Henry Fisher
- 2019 · Them That Work as Self
- 2019 · Godzilla: King of the Monsters as Admiral William Stenz
- 2018 · My Dinner with Hervé as Marty Rothstein
- 2018 · McMafia as Semiyon Kleiman
- 2017 · Darkest Hour as President Roosevelt (voice)
- 2017 · November Criminals as Theo
- 2015 · The Expanse as Commander Klaes Ashford
- 2015 · The Expanse as Klaes Ashford
- 2015 · Z: The Beginning of Everything as Anthony Sayre
- 2014 · Godzilla as Admiral William Stenz
- 2013 · The Blacklist as Peter Kotsiopulos
- 2012 · Lincoln as William Seward
- 2012 · The Bourne Legacy as Noah Vosen
- 2011 · Alphas as Lee Rosen
- 2010 · The Whistleblower as Peter Ward
- 2010 · Howl as Ralph McIntosh
- 2010 · Temple Grandin as Professor Carlock
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 2009 · The Uninvited as Steven
- 2008 · The Spiderwick Chronicles as Arthur Spiderwick
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Noah Vosen
- 2007 · Fracture as Joe Lobruto
- 2005 · Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2004 · House as Nash
- 2004 · Los Angeles Plays Itself as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
- 2004 · Twisted as Dr. Melvin Frank
- 2003 · The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 2002 · Lathe of Heaven as Mannie
- 2002 · Monk as Patrick Kloster
- 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
- 1999 · Limbo as Joe Gastineau
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1999 · The Sopranos as Robert Wegler
- 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
- 1995 · Dolores Claiborne as Joe St. George
- 1993 · A Dangerous Woman as Getso
- 1993 · The Firm as Ray McDeere
- 1993 · The American Clock as Young Arthur Huntington
- 1992 · Sneakers as Whistler
- 1992 · A League of Their Own as Ira Lowenstein
- 1991 · City of Hope as Asteroid
- 1990 · Judgment as Father Frank Aubert
- 1990 · Heat Wave as Bill Thomas
- 1989 · The Feud as The Stranger
- 1987 · Wiseguy as
- 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
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- Future · The Bard as
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Craig Harriman
- 1988 · Eight Men Out as Eddie Cicotte
- 1988 · Call Me as Sam
- 1988 · Dominick and Eugene as Martin Chernak
- 1987 · Matewan as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
- 1984 · Iceman as Dr. Singe
- 1983 · Lovesick as Marvin Zuckerman
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Carl Linstrum
- 1949 · The Emmy Awards as Self
- Future · Babies as
- 2026 · By Any Means as
- 2025 · This Ordinary Thing as Self (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
- 2020 · Walkaway Joe as Joe Haley
- 2019 · The Devil Has a Name as Fred Stern
- 2019 · Fast Color as Ellis
- 2018 · UFO as Franklin Ahls
- 2018 · An Interview with God as God
- 2016 · American Pastoral as Nathan Zuckerman
- 2016 · He Does Not Want Peace as Richard Englebright
- 2015 · Louder Than Bombs as Richard Weissman
- 2015 · The Debt as Nathan
- 2015 · The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Ty Burley
- 2014 · Clementine as Henry
- 2014 · No God, No Master as William Flynn
- 2013 · Lincoln@Gettysburg as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · Love, Marilyn as Self
- 2012 · Hemingway & Gellhorn as John Dos Passos
- 2012 · Maladies as Delmar
- 2010 · The Tempest as King Alonso
- 2010 · Inside Area 51's Secrets as Narrator
- 2010 · Area 51 Declassified as Himself - Narrator
- 2010 · Matadors as Roman Lodari
- 2009 · Cold Souls as Dr. Flintstein
- 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
- 2007 · My Blueberry Nights as Arnie
- 2007 · Trumbo as Self
- 2007 · Matters of Life and Death as Mr. Jennings
- 2007 · Racing Daylight as Henry / Harry
- 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 · Heavens Fall as Judge James Horton
- 2006 · The Human Behavior Experiments as Narrator
- 2006 · The Shovel as Paul Mullin
- 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 · Paradise as Reverend Bobby Paradise
- 2003 · Blue Car as Auster
- 2002 · Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story as Jack Hoschouer
- 2002 · Speakeasy as Bruce Hickman
- 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 · Simon Birch as Rev. Russell
- 1998 · With Friends Like These as Armand Minetti
- 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 · Losing Isaiah as Charles Lewin
- 1994 · The River Wild as Tom Hartman
- 1994 · April One as John McCowan
- 1993 · Lost in Yonkers as Johnny
- 1992 · Passion Fish as Rennie
- 1992 · Bob Roberts as Mack Laflin
- 1992 · Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even as Keith
- 1992 · O Pioneers! as Carl Linstrum
- 1991 · Without Warning: The James Brady Story as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
- 1989 · Day One as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 1988 · Stars & Bars as Charlie
- 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
- 1983 · Silkwood as Wesley
- 1983 · Enormous Changes at the Last Minute as Jerry
- 1980 · Return of the Secaucus Seven as Ron