James Woods

American Actor
James Woods is an acclaimed American actor known for his intense and fast-talking roles. He has received numerous accolades, including three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Woods has had a diverse career spanning stage, film, and television, with notable roles in movies like 'The Onion Field', 'Salvador', and 'Ghosts of Mississippi'.

About 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 Night Moves (1975). 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 in Videodrome (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Hard Way (1991), Chaplin (1992), Nixon (1995), Casino (1995), Contact (1997), Vampires (1998), Another Day in Paradise (1998), Any Given Sunday (1999), and The Virgin Suicides (1999). He served as an executive producer on Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama film Oppenheimer (2023).

For his television roles, he is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for portraying as D.J. in the CBS movie Promise (1987) and Bill W. in the ABC film My Name Is Bill W. (1989). He has also played Roy Cohn in Citizen Cohn (1992) and Dick Fuld in Too Big to Fail (2011). He starred in the CBS legal series Shark (2006-2008), and had a recurring role in the Showtime crime series Ray Donovan (2013). He has voiced roles for Hercules (1997), Recess: School’s Out (2001), Stuart Little 2 (2002) and Surf’s Up (2007), as well as voicing himself several times on both The Simpsons (1993), and Family Guy (2005-present).

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Frequently asked questions about James Woods

James Woods was born on April 18, 1947.

James Woods has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

James Woods 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).

James Woods had roles in films like ‘The Visitors’ (1972), ‘The Way We Were’ (1973), ‘Night Moves’ (1975), ‘Videodrome’ (1983), ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984), and ‘Ghosts of Mississippi’ (1996), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

James Woods has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his roles in the CBS movie ‘Promise’ (1987) and the ABC film ‘My Name Is Bill W.’ (1989).

Yes, James Woods has provided voice work for animated films and TV shows, including ‘Hercules’ (1997), ‘Recess: School’s Out’ (2001), ‘Stuart Little 2’ (2002), ‘Surf’s Up’ (2007), and he has voiced himself in several episodes of ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy’.

James Woods served as an executive producer on Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama film ‘Oppenheimer’, which is set to release in 2023.

Quotes by James Woods

Celebrity – I don’t even know what that means. Obviously it’s the same basic word as celebration, but I don’t know what’s being celebrated.

James Woods

Do you think I want to be the one lone voice against the Hollywood liberal establishment? It’s not going to do me any good.

James Woods

I was able to lean on people for favors and things to help out because their budget was so low. It was half of what John Travolta’s perk package is on a film. Our whole budget was half of what his staff makes on a film.

James Woods

I’m a pretty quiet guy, but if people want to think of me as a lady killer, I guess that’s good.

James Woods

I’m absolutely gonna win it, because I’m ruthless. I sit at the poker table and my job is to destroy people.

James Woods

I’m famous for being nicer to my fans than anyone on the face of the Earth because I figure a) They pay my salary, and b) It’s probably like a big moment in your life to meet somebody so I would say, just come on up.

James Woods

Look, just go sit at the card table with the rest of the kids and let the adults run the country.

James Woods

My attitude about Hollywood is that I wouldn’t walk across the street to pull one of those executives out of the snow if he was bleeding to death. Not unless I was paid for it. None of them ever did me any favors.

James Woods

No matter what it is, if you get 10 people in the business talking about something, you get 10 different opinions, but you know, they’re amazingly well informed.

James Woods

So you can say whatever you want and quote me however you want about politics and make the next payday, and that’s fine because I’m making that deal with you, but just mention the movie along the way, OK?

James Woods

Sometimes the way you respond to horrific, evil deeds is the measure of one’s self as a man, as a nation, as people, as a community.

James Woods

The lifeblood of my career has been independent film.

James Woods

The press is like a big bass, you just stick a hook in their mouth and they’ll take it.

James Woods

We work in an environment where your options are to do, you know, Batman 10, so when you get to do a movie that’s a really great film like this, people really step up to the plate and enjoy it.

James Woods