James Woods, American actor and producer
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine alongside Sam Waterston and Michael Moriarty on Broadway. In 1972 he won the Theatre World Award for his performance in Moonchildren. In 1978, Woods made his television breakthrough alongside Meryl Streep, playing her husband in the critically acclaimed four-part miniseries Holocaust. The series went on to receive the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. After his film debut in Elia Kazan's The Visitors, he starred in supporting roles on films, including Sydney Pollack's The Way We Were and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975).

In 1979, Woods gained acclaim for his leading role as Gregory Powell in the crime thriller The Onion Field. Critic Roger Ebert praised Woods for this film, calling him "a special talent". Woods received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. Through the 1980s Woods appeared in films such as David Cronenberg's Videodrome (1983), Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and Oliver Stone's Salvador (1986), for which he received his first Academy Award nomination. Through the 1990s he played character roles in Richard Attenborough's Chaplin (1992), Martin Scorsese's Casino (1995), and Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995). In 1997, Woods received his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist murderer of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, in Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi (1996). Woods continued to act in supporting roles in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999), Robert Zemeckis' Contact (1997), Clint Eastwood's True Crime and Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides (1999).

He is known for his roles in television films such as Bill W. in My Name is Bill W. (1989), Roy Cohn in Citizen Cohn (1992), and Rudy Giuliani in Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story. In May 20, 1995, Woods starred as Defense Attorney Danny Davis in Indictment: The McMartin Trial, a film made for television that originally aired on HBO. Based on the true story of the McMartin preschool trial, the film is cited as a watershed in the shift of opinion about satanic ritual abuse alleged to be widespread in daycare centers in the United States. In 2011, he made a career resurgence as Dick Fuld in Too Big to Fail on HBO. His performance received both a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance. He is also known for his lead role in the CBS drama Shark (2006–2008), and his guest appearances in Showtime's Ray Donovan (2013). He is also known for his voice roles in the animated features Hercules (1997), Recess: School's Out (2001), Stuart Little 2 (2002), and Surf's Up (2007) and for voice-acting as himself on various episodes of Family Guy and The Simpsons.

Woods was nominated for two Academy Awards: one for Best Actor for his work in Oliver Stone's Salvador (1986) and another for Best Supporting Actor for Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi (1996). He is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards for the television movies Promise (1987) and My Name Is Bill W. (1989). Woods has also received three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and three Independent Spirit Award nominations. On October 15, 1998, Woods received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Pictures Category at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.