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James Spader has earned praise from critics and audiences for his film and television roles, many of which have explored the darker side of human nature.

This fall, Spader will make his Broadway debut starring in David Mamet's new play Race. Mamet is also directing the production, which also stars Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas.

Spader has the rare distinction of winning three Best Actor Emmy Awards for the same role but on two different series. He won two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his multilayered portrayal of Alan Shore, the ethically challenged attorney on David E. Kelley's widely acclaimed ABC series Boston Legal. He had originated the role of Alan Shore on Kelley's series The Practice, for which Spader won his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Earlier in his career, Spader starred in Steven Soderbergh's controversial breakthrough film sex, lies and videotape, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. He returned to Cannes for the premiere of David Cronenberg's Crash, which won the festival's Special Jury Prize. Spader more recently starred opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal in the critically acclaimed independent feature Secretary, directed by Steven Shainberg, which won the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Originality.

Over the course of his career, Spader has also starred in a number of major studio releases, including Roland Emmerich's sci-fi actioner StarGate; Mike Nichols's thriller Wolf, with Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer; Luis Mandoki's White Palace, opposite Susan Sarandon; and Less Than Zero, with Robert Downey Jr. Spader's credits also include such diverse films as The Watcher; Sidney Lumet's Critical Care; John Herzfeld's 2 Days in the Valley, opposite Charlize Theron; The Music of Chance, based on the Paul Auster book; Tim Robbins' political satire Bob Roberts; Herbert Ross's True Colors, with John Cusack; and Bad Influence, for director Curtis Hanson, among many others.