James Woods
Biography
James Woods is an American actor who built a career on fast-talking, intense screen roles. Born in Vernal, Utah, and raised in Rhode Island, he acted in 36 stage productions before making his Broadway debut in The Penny Wars in 1969. His early film credits included The Visitors (1972) and The Way We Were (1973), and his breakthrough came with the role of Gregory Powell in The Onion Field (1979). He received Academy Award nominations for playing Richard Boyle in Salvador (1986) and Byron De La Beckwith in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996). His television work brought Primetime Emmy Awards for Promise and My Name Is Bill W. Among his other notable films are Videodrome, Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Casino (1995), Contact (1997), and the voice of Hades in Hercules (1997). He also starred in the legal series Shark and served as an executive producer on Oppenheimer (2023).
79years old
Turns 80 on April 18in 159 days
- Born Vernal
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Also credited as James Howard Woods
Movie Career
- Films
- 63
- Career span
- 44 years1972 to 2016
Genres
First and latest
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A role that slipped away
Woods was offered a leading part in Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino's low-budget directorial debut, but his agent turned down the script without showing it to him. When Woods later found out, he fired his agents at CAA and hired ICM.
First role
Woods pretended he was British to get cast in Borstal Boy, Frank McMahon's adaptation of Brendan Behan's work, staged at the Lyceum Theatre in 1970 as its first American production.
Getting ready for a role
Woods lobbied Rob Reiner hard for a part the director had in mind for a man in his 70s, such as Paul Newman.
Getting ready for a role
Woods took the supporting part of the hustler Lester Diamond in Martin Scorsese's Casino (1995). After hearing Scorsese wanted to work with him, Woods phoned Scorsese's office and left a message offering to work whenever, wherever, in whatever part, for whatever fee.
Getting ready for a role
Woods perfected Beckwith's Mississippi accent with an accent coach and by watching tapes. He said he imagined he was speaking a foreign language, which helped him distance himself from the character.
Early training
Woods was part of the student theater group Dramashop, where he acted in and directed plays. He left MIT in 1969, a semester short of graduating, to pursue an acting career.
James Woods movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Oliver Stone directed three of these films, James B. Harris two. Seven actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Alec Baldwin's page
Danny DeVito's page
Matthew Modine's page
Burt Young's page
Melanie Griffith's page
All films by Oliver Stone
All films by James B. Harris
Also three films together1 more actor
- Graham BeckelNorthfork (2003), True Crime (1999) and True Believer (1989)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What James Woods's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$2.2 billion
38 of the 63 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 63 films: 38 worldwide figure; 9 us gross only; 10 never in cinemas; 6 figure not found.
- 38Worldwide figure
- 9US gross only
- 10Never in cinemas
- 6Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 63% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$253M11.5% of the total
- 2$205M9.4% of the total
- 3$171M7.8% of the total
- 4$170M7.8% of the total
- 5$170M7.8% of the total
- 6$150M6.8% of the total
- 7$149M6.8% of the total
- 8$116M5.3% of the total
$807 millionfrom the other 30 films with a worldwide figure, 37% of the total
Awards
Seven awards and honors from 1972 to 2000, three of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 2000 | Daytime Emmy Award | Won | |
| 1989 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | My Name Is Bill W. | Won |
| 1987 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Promise | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 1998 | Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | |
| 1996 | Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award | Killer: A Journal of Murder | Won |
| 1972 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
| Clarence Derwent Awards | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.