James Woods is an Oscar-nominated American actor. Currently, he is playing a famous LA lawyer in the tv show Shark.

He was nominated for an Academy Award twice: the first in 1987 for Best Actor in Salvador and again in 1996 for Best Supporting Actor for Ghosts of Mississippi. He has also garnered critical praise for his voice work for Hades in Disney's Hercules and in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. His personal favorite of all of his roles, is Max in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon A Time In America (1984).

He was briefly considered for the role of The Joker by Tim Burton and Sam Hamm for the Batman film in 1989. Woods appeared as himself in the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homer and Apu" and in an episode of Family Guy entitled "Peter's Got Woods." In 2006, Woods starred opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. in the intense political thriller End Game. Also in 2006, Woods played himself in the season 3 premiere episode of Entourage.

Woods will star in the new CBS legal drama Shark. Woods will play a famous Los Angeles lawyer who becomes a prosecutor. Shark is directed by Spike Lee and also stars Jeri Ryan.

Birth Name: James Howard Woods
Public Name: James Woods
Birth Date: April 18, 1947
Place of Birth: Vernal, Utah

Filmography

• Surf's Up,2007 (voice)
• "Shark" , 2006 TV Episode
• Scarface: The World Is Yours, 2006 (VG) (voice)
• End Game, 2006
• "ER" , 2006 TV Episode
• Kingdom Hearts II, 2005 (VG) (voice)
• Be Cool, 2005
• Pretty Persuasion, 2005
• "Odd Job Jack" , 2005 TV Episode
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, 2004 (VG) (voice)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 2004 (VG) (voice)
• The Easter Egg Adventure, 2004 (voice)
• Ark, 2004 (voice)
• This Girl's Life, 2003
• Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, 2003 (TV)
• Northfork, 2003
• Legend of the Lost Tribe, 2002 (TV) (voice: English version)
• Little Warriors, 2002
• Mickey's House of Villains, 2002 (voice)
• "House of Mouse", 2001-2002 TV Episode (voice)
• Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun, 2002 (V) (voice)
• Stuart Little 2, 2002 (voice)
• Kingdom Hearts, 2002 (VG) (voice)
• John Q, 2002
• Race to Space, 2001
• Riding in Cars with Boys, 2001
• Scary Movie 2, 2001
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, 2001 (voice)
• "Clerks", 2001 TV Episodes (voice)
• Recess: School's Out, 2001 (voice)
• Dirty Pictures, 2000 (TV)
• Hooves of Fire, 1999 (TV) (voice)
• Play It to the Bone, 1999
• Any Given Sunday, 1999
• The General's Daughter, 1999
• The Virgin Suicides, 1999
• True Crime, 1999
• Hercules: Zero to Hero, 1999 (V) (voice)
• World's Deadliest Earthquakes, 1999 (TV)
• "Hercules", 1998 TV Episode (voice)
• Vampires, 1998
• Of Light and Darkness, 1998 (VG)
• Contact, 1997
• Hercules, 1997 (voice)
• Kicked in the Head, 1997
• Another Day in Paradise, 1997
• Hercules, 1997 (voice)
• Ghosts of Mississippi, 1996
• The Summer of Ben Tyler, 1996 (TV)
• Killer: A Journal of Murder, 1996
• For Better or Worse, 1996
• Nixon, 1995
• Casino, 1995
• Indictment: The McMartin Trial, 1995 (TV)
• The Specialist, 1994
• Curse of the Starving Class, 1994
• Next Door, 1994 (TV)
• The Getaway, 1994
• Jane's House, 1994 (TV)
• "Fallen Angels", 1993 TV Episode
• Chaplin, 1992
• Citizen Cohn, 1992 (TV)
• Diggstown, 1992
• Straight Talk, 1992
• The Boys, 1991 (TV)
• The Hard Way, 1991
• Women and Men: Stories of Seduction, 1990 (TV)
• "Saturday Night Live", 1989 TV Episodes
• Immediate Family, 1989
• My Name Is Bill W., 1989 (TV)
• True Believer, 1989
• The Boost, 1988
• Cop, 1988
• Best Seller, 1987
• In Love and War, 1987 (TV)
• Promise, 1986 (TV)
• Salvador, 1986
• Badge of the Assassin, 1985 (TV)
• Joshua Then and Now, 1985
• Cat's Eye, 1985
• Against All Odds, 1984
• Once Upon a Time in America, 1984
• Videodrome, 1983
• Split Image, 1982
• Fast-Walking, 1982
• Eyewitness, 1981
• The Black Marble, 1980
• "Young Maverick", 2 episodes, 1979-1980
• The Onion Field, 1979
• And Your Name Is Jonah, 1979 (TV)
• The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel, 1979 (TV)
• The Gift of Love, 1978 (TV)
• "Holocaust", 1978 (mini) TV Series
• The Choirboys, 1977
• Raid on Entebbe, 1977 (TV)
• "Family", 1977 TV Episode
• "Police Story", 1976 TV Episode
• The Disappearance of Aimee, 1976 (TV)
• "Barnaby Jones", 1976 TV Episode
• Alex & the Gypsy, 1976
• F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood, 1976 (TV)
• "Bert D'Angelo/Superstar", 1976 TV Episode
• The Billion Dollar Bubble, 1976
• Distance, 1975
• Foster and Laurie, 1975 (TV)
• "The Rookies", 1975 TV Episode
• "The Streets of San Francisco" , 1975 TV Episode
• "Welcome Back, Kotter", 1975 TV Episode
• Night Moves, 1975
• The Gambler, 1974
• "The Rockford Files", 1974 TV Episode
• "Kojak", 1974 TV Episode
• The Way We Were, 1973
• A Great American Tragedy, 1972 (TV)
• Footsteps, 1972 (TV)
• Hickey & Boggs, 1972
• The Visitors, 1972
• All the Way Home, 1971 (TV)
• Out of It, 1969

Awards

• Golden Satellite Best Actor in Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television "Dirty Pictures" 2000
• Daytime Emmy Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program "Disney's Hercules" 1999
• Golden Satellite Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "Killer: A Journal of Murder" 1996
• Sitges International Festival of Fantasy and Horror Film Best Actor "Killer: A Journal of Murder" 1996
• Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special "My Name is Bill W." 1988 - 89
• Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special "Promise" 1986 - 87
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made-For-Television "Promise" 1986
• Independent Spirit Award Best Actor "Salvador" 1986
• Theatre World Award 1972
• OBIE Award Distinguished Performance "Saved" 1970 - 71