David Strathairn

Strathairn made his acting debut in his fellow Williams College graduate John Sayles' film Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), and continued acting in multiple films by Sayles, such as Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), City of Hope (1991), Passion Fish (1992) and Limbo (1999). In the 1990s, he appeared in multiple box-office successes such as A League of Their Own (1992), Sneakers (1992), The Firm (1993), The River Wild (1995) and L.A. Confidential (1997) before gaining prominence for his portrayal of journalist Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also recognized for his role as CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and The Bourne Legacy (2012). He appeared in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012), Chloe Zhao's Nomadland (2020), and Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley (2021).


Also known for his lengthy work on television, he made his debut in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow in 1984. He portrayed Robert Wegler in the acclaimed HBO drama series The Sopranos (2004). He received a Primetime Emmy Award win and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in the HBO television film Temple Grandin (2010). He portrayed John Dos Passos in the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012). He's had recurring roles in the Syfy series Alphas (2011–2012), the NBC series The Blacklist (2015–2016), the Showtime series Billions (2017–2019), and the SyFy, then Amazon Prime Video, series The Expanse (2018–2019).

Early life and education[edit]

Strathairn was born in San Francisco, California.^[3] He is of Scottish descent through his paternal grandfather, Thomas Scott Strathairn, a native of Crieff, and of Native Hawaiian ancestry through his paternal grandmother, Josephine Lei Victoria Alana.^[4][5][6] Strathairn attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California.^[7] He graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1970.^[8] At Williams, he met fellow actor Gordon Clapp; and (after graduation) another Williams alumnus, director John Sayles,^[9] with whom he has collaborated on a number of projects.


He studied clowning at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Venice, Florida,^[10] and briefly worked as a clown in a traveling circus.^[11]