David Strathairn

Acting

David Strathairn

Born January 26, 1949San Francisco, California, USA152 credits

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

Filmography

Stages
2026Stages
as Porter GatesMovie
This Ordinary Thing
2025This Ordinary Thing
as Self (voice)Movie
Zootopia 2
2025Zootopia 2
as Milton Lynxley (voice)Movie
The Gettysburg Address
2025The Gettysburg Address
as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)Movie
O Horizon
2025O Horizon
as WarrenMovie
A Man on the Inside
2024A Man on the Inside
as Dr. Benjamin ColeTV
Remember This
2023Remember This
as Jan KarskiMovie
Where the Crawdads Sing
2022Where the Crawdads Sing
as Tom MiltonMovie
Nomadland
2021Nomadland
as DaveMovie
The Oedipus Project
2020The Oedipus Project
as Messenger 1Movie
Walkaway Joe
2020Walkaway Joe
as Joe HaleyMovie
Interrogation
2020Interrogation
as Henry FisherTV
Them That Work
2019Them That Work
as SelfMovie
The Devil Has a Name
2019The Devil Has a Name
as Fred SternMovie
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
2019Godzilla: King of the Monsters
as Admiral William StenzMovie
Fast Color
2019Fast Color
as EllisMovie
My Dinner with Hervé
2018My Dinner with Hervé
as Marty RothsteinMovie
UFO
2018UFO
as Franklin AhlsMovie
McMafia
2018McMafia
as Semiyon KleimanTV
Darkest Hour
2017Darkest Hour
as President Roosevelt (voice)Movie
American Pastoral
2016American Pastoral
as Nathan ZuckermanMovie
He Does Not Want Peace
2016He Does Not Want Peace
as Richard EnglebrightMovie
Billions
2016Billions
as Black Jack FoleyTV
The Expanse
2015The Expanse
as Commander Klaes AshfordTV
Louder Than Bombs
2015Louder Than Bombs
as Richard WeissmanMovie
The Debt
2015The Debt
as NathanMovie
Godzilla
2014Godzilla
as Admiral William StenzMovie
No God, No Master
2014No God, No Master
as William FlynnMovie
Lincoln@Gettysburg
2013Lincoln@Gettysburg
as Self - Narrator (voice)Movie
The Blacklist
2013The Blacklist
as Peter KotsiopulosTV
Love, Marilyn
2013Love, Marilyn
as SelfMovie
Lincoln
2012Lincoln
as William SewardMovie
Hemingway & Gellhorn
2012Hemingway & Gellhorn
as John Dos PassosMovie
The Bourne Legacy
2012The Bourne Legacy
as Noah VosenMovie
Maladies
2012Maladies
as DelmarMovie
Alphas
2011Alphas
as Lee RosenTV
The Whistleblower
2010The Whistleblower
as Peter WardMovie
The Tempest
2010The Tempest
as King AlonsoMovie
Howl
2010Howl
as Ralph McIntoshMovie
Area 51 Declassified
2010Area 51 Declassified
as Himself - NarratorMovie
Temple Grandin
2010Temple Grandin
as Professor CarlockMovie
M
2010Matadors
as Roman LodariMovie
Cold Souls
2009Cold Souls
as Dr. FlintsteinMovie
The Uninvited
2009The Uninvited
as StevenMovie
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
2008The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
as J. Robert OppenheimerMovie
The Spiderwick Chronicles
2008The Spiderwick Chronicles
as Arthur SpiderwickMovie
Trumbo
2007Trumbo
as SelfMovie
Matters of Life and Death
2007Matters of Life and Death
as Mr. JenningsMovie
The Bourne Ultimatum
2007The Bourne Ultimatum
as Noah VosenMovie
Racing Daylight
2007Racing Daylight
as Henry / HarryMovie
Steel Toes
2007Steel Toes
as Danny DunkelmanMovie
Fracture
2007Fracture
as Joe LobrutoMovie
The Supreme Court
2007The Supreme Court
as NarratorMovie
We Are Marshall
2006We Are Marshall
as President DedmonMovie
Heavens Fall
2006Heavens Fall
as Judge James HortonMovie
T
2006The Shovel
as Paul MullinMovie
The Notorious Bettie Page
2006The Notorious Bettie Page
as Estes KefauverMovie
Good Night, and Good Luck.
2005Good Night, and Good Luck.
as Edward R. MurrowMovie
Missing in America
2005Missing in America
as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.Movie
House
2004House
as NashTV
Los Angeles Plays Itself
2004Los Angeles Plays Itself
as Pierce Patchett in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)Movie
Twisted
2004Twisted
as Dr. Melvin FrankMovie
Paradise
2004Paradise
as Reverend Bobby ParadiseMovie
Blue Car
2003Blue Car
as AusterMovie
Lathe of Heaven
2002Lathe of Heaven
as MannieMovie
Monk
2002Monk
as Patrick KlosterTV
Speakeasy
2002Speakeasy
as Bruce HickmanMovie
Relative Evil
2001Relative Evil
as Dr. CharlieMovie
The Victim
2001The Victim
as Mark ZingerlineMovie
A Good Baby
2000A Good Baby
as Truman LesterMovie
The Miracle Worker
2000The Miracle Worker
as Captain KellerMovie
Harrison's Flowers
2000Harrison's Flowers
as Harrison LloydMovie
Freedom Song
2000Freedom Song
as Peter CrowleyMovie
A Map of the World
1999A Map of the World
as Howard GoodwinMovie
Limbo
1999Limbo
as Joe GastineauMovie
The Sopranos
1999The Sopranos
as Robert WeglerTV
Bad Manners
1998Bad Manners
as Wes WestlundMovie
The Giraffe
1998The Giraffe
as Charles KaminskiMovie
Simon Birch
1998Simon Birch
as Rev. RussellMovie
With Friends Like These
1998With Friends Like These
as Armand MinettiMovie
Evidence of Blood
1998Evidence of Blood
as Jackson KinleyMovie
The Climb
1998The Climb
as Earl HimesMovie
L.A. Confidential
1997L.A. Confidential
as Pierce PatchettMovie
Song of Hiawatha
1997Song of Hiawatha
as MarcelMovie
In the Gloaming
1997In the Gloaming
as MartinMovie
Mother Night
1996Mother Night
as Bernard B. O'HareMovie
Beyond the Call
1996Beyond the Call
as Russel GatesMovie
Home for the Holidays
1995Home for the Holidays
as Russell TerziakMovie
Dolores Claiborne
1995Dolores Claiborne
as Joe St. GeorgeMovie
Losing Isaiah
1995Losing Isaiah
as Charles LewinMovie
The River Wild
1994The River Wild
as Tom HartmanMovie
April One
1994April One
as John McCowanMovie
The Firm
1993The Firm
as Ray McDeereMovie
Lost in Yonkers
1993Lost in Yonkers
as JohnnyMovie
The American Clock
1993The American Clock
as Young Arthur HuntingtonMovie
Passion Fish
1992Passion Fish
as RennieMovie
Sneakers
1992Sneakers
as WhistlerMovie
Bob Roberts
1992Bob Roberts
as Mack LaflinMovie
A League of Their Own
1992A League of Their Own
as Ira LowensteinMovie
O Pioneers!
1992O Pioneers!
as Carl LinstrumMovie
City of Hope
1991City of Hope
as AsteroidMovie
Judgment
1990Judgment
as Father Frank AubertMovie
Memphis Belle
1990Memphis Belle
as Craig HarrimanMovie
Heat Wave
1990Heat Wave
as Bill ThomasMovie
The Feud
1989The Feud
as The StrangerMovie
Day One
1989Day One
as J. Robert OppenheimerMovie
Eight Men Out
1988Eight Men Out
as Eddie CicotteMovie
Call Me
1988Call Me
as SamMovie
Stars & Bars
1988Stars & Bars
as CharlieMovie
Dominick and Eugene
1988Dominick and Eugene
as Martin ChernakMovie
Matewan
1987Matewan
as Police Chief Sid HatfieldMovie
Broken Vows
1987Broken Vows
as Stuart ChaseMovie
At Close Range
1986At Close Range
as Tony PineMovie
The Equalizer
1985The Equalizer
as Phillip BorchekTV
When Nature Calls
1985When Nature Calls
as WeejunMovie
Miami Vice
1984Miami Vice
as Marty LangTV
Iceman
1984Iceman
as Dr. SingeMovie
Silkwood
1983Silkwood
as WesleyMovie
Lovesick
1983Lovesick
as Marvin ZuckermanMovie
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Carl LinstrumTV