James Spader’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
James Spader has 26 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1980s through the 2010s. 2 rank in the Top 10%, led by Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Recurring themes

Bright Lights, Big City
1988
Drama · Romance

Sniper
1993
Action · Drama

Against All Odds
1984
Crime · Drama

Criminal Law
1989
Drama · Thriller

Kiss of Death
1995
Crime · Thriller

Gang Related
1997
Action · Crime

Sea of Love
1989
Crime · Drama

The Star Chamber
1983
Drama · Thriller

Avengers: Age of Ultron
2015 · Movie · Voice
Top 3%Disney+ · Included

Stargate
1994 · Movie · Actor
Top 10%Prime Video · Included

Boston Legal
2004 · Series · Actor
Top 17%Hulu · Included

The Blacklist
2013 · Series · Actor
Top 25%Netflix · Included

Mannequin
1987 · Movie · Actor
Top 25%MGM+ · Included

Secretary
2002 · Movie · Actor
Top 31%Prime Video · Included

When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.
Dir. Joss Whedon · With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo

An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.
Dir. Roland Emmerich · With James Spader, Kurt Russell, Jaye Davidson

Alan Shore and Denny Crane lead a brigade of high-priced civil litigators in an upscale Boston law firm in a series focusing on the professional and personal lives of brilliant but often emotionally challenged attorneys. A spin-off of long-running series The Practice.
Dir. David E. Kelley · With James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen

A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider, whom takes the youth under his wing.
Dir. Oliver Stone · With Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.
Dir. Jon Bokenkamp · With James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff, Hisham Tawfiq

Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyptian under an ancient spell. Despite interference from the store's devious manager, Jonathan and his mannequin fall in love while creating eye-catching window displays to keep the struggling store in business.
Dir. Michael Gottlieb · With Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.
Dir. Steven Shainberg · With James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.
Dir. David Cronenberg · With James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas

Ann, a frustrated wife, enters into counseling due to a troubled marriage. Unbeknownst to her, her husband John has begun an affair with her sister. When John’s best friend Graham arrives, his penchant for interviewing women about their sex lives forever changes John and Ann’s rocky marriage.
Dir. Steven Soderbergh · With James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher

An aging publisher becomes a demon wolf and, with this newfound youthful vigor, fights to keep his job.
Dir. Mike Nichols · With Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader

Andie is an outcast, hanging out either with her older boss, who owns the record store where she works, or her quirky high school classmate Duckie, who has a crush on her. When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane, asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. As Andie starts falling for Blane, she begins to realize that dating someone from a different social sphere is not easy.
Dir. Howard Deutch · With Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer

The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
Dir. Steven Spielberg · With Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”
Dir. David E. Kelley · With Steve Harris, Camryn Manheim, Michael Badalucco

In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by two hit men sets into motion a chain of events that puts the mundane lives of a dozen residents on a collision course. This clever tale tells the story of two hit men, a mistress, a nurse, a vindictive ex-wife, a wealthy art dealer and his lovelorn assistant, a suicidal writer and his dog, and a bitter cop and his partner.
Dir. John Herzfeld · With Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher

Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
Dir. Nicholas Kazan · With James Spader, Mädchen Amick, Fredric Lehne

When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.
Dir. Tommy Lee Jones · With Hilary Swank, Tommy Lee Jones, Grace Gummer

Max Baron is a Jewish advertising executive in his 20s who's still getting over the death of his wife. Nora Baker is a 40-something diner waitress who enjoys the wilder side of life. Mismatched or not, their attraction is instant and smoldering. With time, however, their class and age differences become an obstacle in their relationship, especially since Max can't keep Nora a secret from his Jewish friends and upper-crust associates forever.
Dir. Luis Mandoki · With Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Kathy Bates

Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.
Dir. Curtis Hanson · With James Spader, Rob Lowe, Lisa Zane

A brother and his young sister come to a small town to find out a local gang terrorizes the population.
Dir. Sean S. Cunningham · With Lori Loughlin, Jean De Baer, James Spader

A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Dir. Marek Kanievska · With Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr.

J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!
Dir. Charles Shyer · With Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis
The new guy in a Los Angeles high school, Morgan, does some singing and fights hotshot Nick over disco dancer Frankie.
Dir. Fritz Kiersch · With James Spader, Kim Richards, Paul Mones

As their romance unfolds, Jade and David's growing love for one another becomes the scorn of Jade's father. However, when Jade's grades begin to drop, her father forbids the young couple from seeing each other for 30 days. Driven insane with frustration and desire, David attempts to reverse the decision, with catastrophic results.
Dir. Franco Zeffirelli · With Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight

Government agents find evidence of extraterrestrial life at the South Pole.
Dir. Ron Krauss · With James Spader, Janine Eser, John Lynch

Set in the 22nd century, when a battered salvage ship sends out a distress signal, the seasoned crew of the rescue hospital ship Nova-17 responds. What they find is a black hole--that threatens to destroy both ships--and a mysterious survivor whose body quickly mutates into a monstrous and deadly form.
Dir. Walter Hill · With James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster
FBI agent Joel Campbell, burnt-out and shell-shocked after years spent chasing serial killers, flees L.A. to begin a new life for himself in Chicago. But five months later, Joel's best laid plans are abruptly cut short when his new hometown becomes the setting for some particularly gruesome murders--murders that could only have been committed by one man: David Allen Griffin. One of Joel's most elusive and cunning nemeses, Griffin has followed his former pursuer to Chicago in order to play a sadistic game of cat and mouse. Taunting Joel with photographs of his intended victims and leaving his crime scenes meticulously free of clues in order to keep the police at bay, Griffin derives as much pleasure out of watching Joel react to every movement as watching his victims die. But when Griffin moves into Joel's inner circle, Joel must quickly find some way to stop him before someone close to him becomes the next one to die.
Dir. Joe Charbanic · With James Spader, Keanu Reeves, Marisa Tomei
Top Collaborators
Directors with 2+ shared titles, ranked by frequency