The newest cast member to join The Avengers is James Spader. The 53-year-old actor will be taking on the role of bad guy Ultron.(In a previous post I said that Ultron is a really big robot and was immediately jumped on by the fan community. I won’t do it again.) So is the ultimate ’80s star poised for a comeback?
It looks like he’s well on his way. Fans are going crazy for the casting news. Actor Tom Hiddleston got a huge boost from playing bad guy Loki in the last Avengers movie. At this year’s Comic Con he got the biggest applause during the Marvel panel when he came on stage in full Loki gear. His success in that movie will likely help boost the box office of the second Thor movie. Loki, who is Thor’s adopted brother, was also the bad guy in the first Thor film and from the trailer, it looks like he’s up to his old tricks in the new movie.
Spader already has a built-in fan base so his work in the movie could be a real turning point in his career.
Spader peaked early with roles in ’80s movies like Sex, Lies and Videotape, Pretty in Pink and Less Than Zero (which costarred current Avenger Robert Downey Jr.).
Although he appeared in movies like Stargate in the ’90s, he never really broke out as a bona fide movie star. He got plenty of attention for the 2002 S&M movie Secretary but the film only grossed $9 million at the global box office. Spader had better luck in TV where he starred on Boston Legal for four years. That’s a good run but the show never really turned in to a breakout hit.
Spader is the kind of actor who’s always seemed like he had potential but just wasn’t finding the right role. While his role in The Avengers will earn him plenty of attention, it might not be thing that catapults him to lasting stardom. Fans, feel free to correct me here. But from everything I’ve seen Ultron is a robot who doesn’t have a human face. It’s possible we might not see Spader’s mug in the upcoming movie.
He’ll have a better chance to strut his stuff with The Blacklist, a new show premiering on NBC September 23rd. The show has a very Silence of the Lambs vibe with Spader playing a “criminal mastermind” who surrenders but will only talk to a rookie FBI agent. The show is getting some great buzz already. If it’s a hit, Spader could be in for a whole new level of fame and fortune, one that even eclipses what he was able to do in the ’80s. Get ready for James Spader 2.0.
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