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David Strathairn

Acting Born Jan 26, 1949 San Francisco, California, USA 158 credits

Biography

David Russell Strathairn was born on January 26, 1949, in San Francisco, California. He is an American actor known for his film roles, including his portrayal of journalist Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck in 2005, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Strathairn has starred in films such as L.A. Confidential, Godzilla, and the Bourne franchise. He has also appeared in supporting roles in A League of Their Own, Sneakers, The Firm, The River Wild, Lincoln, Nomadland, and Nightmare Alley. He is a frequent collaborator with director John Sayles, and both are graduates of Williams College.

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Career

Career overview

David Russell Strathairn was born on January 26, 1949, in San Francisco, California. He is an American actor known for a wide-ranging career across feature films. Among his notable film appearances are roles in L.A. Confidential in 1997, Godzilla in 2014, and his involvement in the Bourne franchise from 2007 to 2012. Strathairn also earned recognition for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in the 2005 feature film Good Night, and Good Luck, a project directed by George Clooney that marked Strathairn's first high-profile leading role and earned him an Academy Award nomination.

In addition to his leading and franchise work, Strathairn has appeared in supporting roles across numerous notable films. His filmography includes A League of Their Own in 1992, Sneakers in 1992, The Firm in 1993, The River Wild in 1995, Lincoln in 2012, Nomadland in 2020, and Nightmare Alley in 2021. Furthermore, he is a frequent collaborator with director John Sayles, with whom he shares a background as a fellow graduate of Williams College.

Throughout his career, Strathairn has accumulated 155 known acting credits in the film and television industry. His personal information and career milestones are documented across reference databases and biographies, establishing his long-standing presence in American cinema.

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Frequent co-stars

Career timeline

CIABy Any MeansStagesO Horizon
Zootopia 2The Gettysburg AddressThe Luckiest Man in AmericaThis Ordinary ThingA Little Prayer
A Man on the Inside
Remember This
Where the Crawdads Sing
Nightmare AlleyNomadland
InterrogationThe Oedipus ProjectWalkaway Joe
Godzilla: King of the MonstersThe Devil Has a NameFast ColorThem That Work
McMafiaMy Dinner with HervéAn Interview with GodUFO
Darkest HourNovember Criminals
BillionsAmerican PastoralHe Does Not Want Peace
The ExpanseThe ExpanseZ: The Beginning of EverythingLouder Than BombsThe Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
GodzillaNo God, No Master
The BlacklistLove, MarilynLincoln@Gettysburg
The Bourne LegacyLincolnHemingway & GellhornMaladies
Alphas
The WhistleblowerTemple GrandinThe TempestMatadorsHowl
The UninvitedThe People SpeakCold Souls
The Spiderwick ChroniclesSunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential'Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential'The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
The Bourne UltimatumFractureMy Blueberry NightsRacing DaylightTrumbo
We Are MarshallThe Notorious Bettie PageThe Sensation of SightThe Sensation of Sight · ProducerThe Shovel
Good Night, and Good Luck.Missing in AmericaWilla Cather: The Road Is All
HouseTwistedParadise
The Making of ‘Sneakers’Blue Car
MonkMaster Spy: The Robert Hanssen StoryLathe of HeavenMaster Spy: The Robert Hanssen StorySpeakeasy
Big AppleThe VictimRelative Evil
The Miracle WorkerHarrison's FlowersFreedom SongA Good Baby
The SopranosA Midsummer Night's DreamLimboThe GiraffeA Map of the World
Simon BirchBad MannersWith Friends Like TheseThe ClimbEvidence of Blood
L.A. ConfidentialIn the GloamingSong of Hiawatha

Full filmography

  • CIA (2026) as Sanford 'Sandy' Harrison
  • By Any Means (2026)
  • Stages (2026) as Porter Gates
  • O Horizon (2026) as Warren
  • Zootopia 2 (2025) as Milton Lynxley (voice)
  • The Gettysburg Address (2025) as Ralph Waldo Emerson (voice)
  • The Luckiest Man in America (2025) as Bill
  • This Ordinary Thing (2025) as Self (voice)
  • A Little Prayer (2025) as Bill
  • A Man on the Inside (2024) as Dr. Benjamin Cole
  • Remember This (2023) as Jan Karski
  • Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) as Tom Milton
  • Nightmare Alley (2021) as Pete
  • Nomadland (2021) as Dave
  • Interrogation (2020) as Henry Fisher
  • The Oedipus Project (2020) as Messenger 1
  • Walkaway Joe (2020) as Joe Haley
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) as Admiral William Stenz
  • The Devil Has a Name (2019) as Fred Stern
  • Fast Color (2019) as Ellis
  • Them That Work (2019) as Self
  • McMafia (2018) as Semiyon Kleiman
  • My Dinner with Hervé (2018) as Marty Rothstein
  • An Interview with God (2018) as God
  • UFO (2018) as Franklin Ahls
  • Darkest Hour (2017) as President Roosevelt (voice)
  • November Criminals (2017) as Theo
  • Billions (2016) as Black Jack Foley
  • American Pastoral (2016) as Nathan Zuckerman
  • He Does Not Want Peace (2016) as Richard Englebright
  • The Expanse (2015) as Commander Klaes Ashford
  • The Expanse (2015) as Klaes Ashford
  • Z: The Beginning of Everything (2015) as Anthony Sayre
  • Louder Than Bombs (2015) as Richard Weissman
  • The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) as Ty Burley
  • The Debt (2015) as Nathan
  • Godzilla (2014) as Admiral William Stenz
  • No God, No Master (2014) as William Flynn
  • The Blacklist (2013) as Peter Kotsiopulos
  • Love, Marilyn (2013) as Self
  • Lincoln@Gettysburg (2013) as Self - Narrator (voice)
  • The Bourne Legacy (2012) as Noah Vosen
  • Lincoln (2012) as William Seward
  • Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) as John Dos Passos
  • Maladies (2012) as Delmar
  • Alphas (2011) as Lee Rosen
  • The Whistleblower (2010) as Peter Ward
  • Temple Grandin (2010) as Professor Carlock
  • The Tempest (2010) as King Alonso
  • Matadors (2010) as Roman Lodari
  • Howl (2010) as Ralph McIntosh
  • Area 51 Declassified (2010) as Himself - Narrator
  • Inside Area 51's Secrets (2010) as Narrator
  • The Uninvited (2009) as Steven
  • The People Speak (2009) as Self
  • Cold Souls (2009) as Dr. Flintstein
  • The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) as Arthur Spiderwick
  • Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential' (2008) as Self
  • Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' (2008) as Self
  • The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2008) as J. Robert Oppenheimer
  • The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) as Noah Vosen
  • Fracture (2007) as Joe Lobruto
  • My Blueberry Nights (2007) as Arnie
  • Racing Daylight (2007) as Henry / Harry
  • Trumbo (2007) as Self
  • Steel Toes (2007) as Danny Dunkelman
  • The Supreme Court (2007) as Narrator
  • Matters of Life and Death (2007) as Mr. Jennings
  • We Are Marshall (2006) as President Dedmon
  • The Notorious Bettie Page (2006) as Estes Kefauver
  • The Sensation of Sight (2006) as Finn
  • The Sensation of Sight (2006) Producer
  • The Shovel (2006) as Paul Mullin
  • Heavens Fall (2006) as Judge James Horton
  • The Human Behavior Experiments (2006) as Narrator
  • Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) as Edward R. Murrow
  • Missing in America (2005) as Henry R. Hocknell Jr.
  • Willa Cather: The Road Is All (2005) as Narrator
  • House (2004) as Nash
  • Twisted (2004) as Dr. Melvin Frank
  • Paradise (2004) as Reverend Bobby Paradise
  • The Making of ‘Sneakers’ (2003) as Self
  • Blue Car (2003) as Auster
  • Monk (2002) as Patrick Kloster
  • Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story (2002) as Jack Hoschouer
  • Lathe of Heaven (2002) as Mannie
  • Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story (2002) as Jack Hoschouer
  • Speakeasy (2002) as Bruce Hickman
  • Big Apple (2001) as Will Preecher
  • The Victim (2001) as Mark Zingerline
  • Relative Evil (2001) as Dr. Charlie
  • The Miracle Worker (2000) as Captain Keller
  • Harrison's Flowers (2000) as Harrison Lloyd
  • Freedom Song (2000) as Peter Crowley
  • A Good Baby (2000) as Truman Lester
  • The Sopranos (1999) as Robert Wegler
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) as Theseus
  • Limbo (1999) as Joe Gastineau
  • The Giraffe (1999) as Charles Kaminski
  • A Map of the World (1999) as Howard Goodwin
  • Simon Birch (1998) as Reverend Russell
  • Bad Manners (1998) as Wes Westlund
  • With Friends Like These (1998) as Armand Minetti
  • The Climb (1998) as Earl Himes
  • Evidence of Blood (1998) as Jackson Kinley
  • L.A. Confidential (1997) as Pierce Patchett
  • In the Gloaming (1997) as Martin
  • Song of Hiawatha (1997) as Marcel
  • Mother Night (1996) as Bernard B. O'Hare
  • Beyond the Call (1996) as Russel Gates
  • Dolores Claiborne (1995) as Joe St. George
  • Home for the Holidays (1995) as Russell Terziak
  • Losing Isaiah (1995) as Charles Lewin
  • The River Wild (1994) as Tom Hartman
  • April One (1994) as John McCowan
  • The Firm (1993) as Ray McDeere
  • A Dangerous Woman (1993) as Getso
  • The American Clock (1993) as Young Arthur Huntington
  • Lost in Yonkers (1993) as Johnny
  • Sneakers (1992) as Whistler
  • A League of Their Own (1992) as Ira Lowenstein
  • Passion Fish (1992) as Rennie
  • Bob Roberts (1992) as Mack Laflin
  • Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992) as Keith
  • O Pioneers! (1992) as Carl Linstrum
  • City of Hope (1991) as Asteroid
  • Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1991) as Dr. Arthur Kobrine
  • Memphis Belle (1990) as Craig Harriman
  • Judgment (1990) as Father Frank Aubert
  • Heat Wave (1990) as Bill Thomas
  • Day One (1989) as J. Robert Oppenheimer
  • The Feud (1989) as The Stranger
  • Call Me (1988) as Sam
  • Eight Men Out (1988) as Eddie Cicotte
  • Stars & Bars (1988) as Charlie
  • Dominick and Eugene (1988) as Martin Chernak
  • Wiseguy (1987)
  • The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987) as Moss Goodman
  • Matewan (1987) as Police Chief Sid Hatfield
  • Broken Vows (1987) as Stuart Chase
  • At Close Range (1986) as Tony Pine
  • The Equalizer (1985) as Phillip Borchek
  • Spenser: For Hire (1985)
  • When Nature Calls (1985) as Weejun
  • Miami Vice (1984) as Marty Lang
  • Iceman (1984) as Dr. Singe
  • The Brother from Another Planet (1984) as Man In Black
  • Silkwood (1983) as Wesley
  • Lovesick (1983) as Marvin Zuckerman
  • Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) as Jerry
  • American Playhouse (1982) as Carl Linstrum
  • American Playhouse (1982) as The Stranger
  • Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) as Ron
  • The Oscars (1953) as Self
  • Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Carl Linstrum
  • The Emmy Awards (1949) as Self
  • Babies
  • The Bard