James Woods

James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known for fast-talking, intense roles on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway before making his Broadway debut in The Penny Wars (1969), followed by Borstal Boy (1970), The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1971) and Moonchildren (1972). Woods' early film roles include The Visitors (1972), The Way We Were (1973) and The Gambler (1974). He starred in the NBC miniseries Holocaust (1978) opposite Meryl Streep.

He rose to prominence portraying Gregory Powell in The Onion Field (1979). He earned two Academy Awards nominations: one for Best Actor for his role as journalist Richard Boyle in Salvador (1986) and for Best Supporting Actor for playing white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996). Notable film roles include Videodrome (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Immediate Family (1989), The Hard Way (1991), Chaplin (1992), The Specialist (1994), Casino (1995), Contact (1997), Another Day in Paradise (1998), The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Jobs (2013). He served as an executive producer on Christopher Nolan's biographical drama film Oppenheimer (2023).