Film: "Good Night, and Good Luck"

Born: Jan. 26, 1949 (San Francisco)

Bio:
A native Californian of Scottish and Hawaiian ancestry, David Strathairn first caught the acting bug while attending Williams College in Massachusetts. It was there that he befriended budding filmmaker John Sayles (later a frequent collaborator). After graduation, Strathairn attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Florida and subsequently worked a six-month stint as a clown in a traveling circus. A few years later in upstate New York, Strathairn reunited with Sayles and starred in the filmmaker's directorial debut, "Return of the Secaucus 7." Strathairn's steady, unflappable presence has been featured in a number of vehicles, ranging from his turn as a quizzical millionaire in "L.A. Confidential" to his role as Blair Brown's boss on TV's "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd."

Credits:
"Heavens Fall" (2005)
"Good Night, and Good Luck" (2005)
"Missing in America" (2005)
"Twisted" (2004)
"Paradise" (2004) (TV)
"The Root" (2003)
"Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story" (2002) (TV)
"Lathe of Heaven" (2002) (TV)
"Blue Car" (2002)
"Speakeasy" (2002)

"Ball in the House" (2001)
"Big Apple" (2001) (TV series)
"The Victim" (2001)
"A Good Baby" (2000)
"The Miracle Worker" (2000) (TV)
"Harrison's Flowers" (2000)
"Freedom Song" (2000) (TV)
"A Map of the World" (1999)
"Limbo" (1999)
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999)
"Meschugge" (1998)
"Simon Birch" (1998)
"With Friends Like These..." (1998)
"Evidence of Blood" (1998) (TV)
"The Climb" (1998)
"Bad Manners" (1997)
"L.A. Confidential" (1997)
"In the Gloaming" (1997) (TV)
"Song of Hiawatha" (1997)
"Mother Night" (1996)
"Beyond the Call" (1996) (TV)
"Home for the Holidays" (1995)
"Dolores Claiborne" (1995)
"Losing Isaiah" (1995)
"The River Wild" (1994)
"A Dangerous Woman" (1993)
"The American Clock" (1993) (TV)
"The Firm" (1993)
"Lost in Yonkers" (1993)
"April One" (1993)
"Passion Fish" (1992)
"Sneakers" (1992)
"Bob Roberts" (1992)
"A League of Their Own" (1992)
"Big Girls Don't Cry… They Get Even" (1992)
"O Pioneers!" (1992) (TV)
"Lethal Innocence" (1991) (TV)
"City of Hope" (1991)
"Without Warning: The James Brady Story" (1991) (TV)
"Son of the Morning Star" (1991) (TV)
"Judgment" (1990) (TV)
"Memphis Belle" (1990)
"Heat Wave" (1990) (TV)
"Day One" (1989) (TV)
"The Feud" (1989)
"The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (1988-90) (TV series)
"Eight Men Out" (1988)
"Call Me" (1988)
"Dominick and Eugene" (1988)
"Stars and Bars" (1988)
"Matewan" (1987)
"Broken Vows" (1987) (TV)
"At Close Range" (1986)
"When Nature Calls" (1985)
"The Brother from Another Planet" (1984)
"Iceman" (1984)
"Silkwood" (1983)
"Enormous Changes at the Last Minute" (1983)
"Lovesick" (1983)
"Return of the Secaucus 7" (1980)


Notable:
Strathairn has appeared in seven films by writer-director John Sayles: "Return of the Secaucus 7," "The Brother from Another Planet," "Matewan," "Eight Men Out," "City of Hope," "Passion Fish" and "Limbo."