Actor James Spader is known for playing eccentric characters in film (The Pentagon Papers, Less Than Zero, Pretty In Pink, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Crash, Secretary) and highly intelligent characters on TV (The Practice, Boston Legal). His current leading role as Raymond “Red” Reddington in the NBC hit series The Blacklist, is no exception. Red is one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives.
Although Spader was enrolled in the highly selected, prestigious boarding school Phillips Academy (actor alums include Humphrey Bogart and Jack Lemmon), he dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to pursue acting in New York City. The calm he brings to his characters might come from his years working as a yoga instructor. Without a high school degree, he also worked as a busboy, a truck driver, stable boy and even a railroad-car loader. The season 2 premiere of The Blacklist airs September 22 at 10/9c on NBC.
