# Jay O. Sanders

Jay Olcutt Sanders (born April 16, 1953) is an American film, theatre and television actor and playwright. He frequently appears in plays off-Broadway at The Public Theatre. He has received a Drama Desk Award and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.
Sanders made his off-Broadway debut in a Shakespeare in the Park production of Henry V in 1976. He originated the role of Bradley in Sam Shepard's Buried Child (1978). He made his Broadway debut in the play Loose Ends (1979). He returned to Broadway in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1983), Saint Joan (1993), Pygmalion (2007), Girl from the North Country (2020), and Purlie Victorious (2023).
He made his feature film debut in the comedy Starting Over (1979). He had notable roles in films such as Cross Creek (1983), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Glory (1989), JFK (1991), Hostages (1992), Angels in the Outfield (1993), Music of the Heart (1999), Tumbleweeds (1999), and Revolutionary Road (2008). He took recurring roles in television series including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Blindspot, and Sneaky Pete. He has served as the narrator for the shows Wide Angle, Nova, and Secrets of the Dead.

## Early life and education

Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, Texas to James Olcutt Sanders, an arts organization executive and violinist (1917-1983), and Phyllis Rae née Aden. His parents were Quakers. He attended the acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase.

## Career

Sanders made his off-Broadway debut in a Shakespeare in the Park production of Henry V in 1976. He played Bradley in the first New York production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child in 1978.
Sanders has had a long career in film and television. He is perhaps most recognized for his work in the films The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Green Lantern (2011), and the Alex Cross films starring Morgan Freeman. He has appeared in many other notable films, including Glory (1989), Mr. Destiny (1990), JFK (1991), Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Big Green (1995), Daylight, Tumbleweeds (1999), Music of the Heart (1999), Half Nelson (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), and Revolutionary Road (2008). On television, Sanders played mob lawyer Steven Kordo in the 1986–88 NBC detective series Crime Story, Norbert "Ziggy" Walsh on two episodes of Roseanne, and recurring characters on shows such as Person of Interest and True Detective. He is the narrator for the PBS series Wide Angle from 2002 to 2009, and has served as narrator for a number of Nova episodes starting in 2007.
On stage, Sanders has appeared on Broadway in Loose Ends (1979), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1983), Saint Joan (1993), Pygmalion (2007)., Girl from the North Country (musical) (2020), and Purlie Victorious (2023). Off-Broadway, he appeared as George W. Bush in Sir David Hare's Stuff Happens in 2006. He played in a number of Shakespearean plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bottom, 2007), Hamlet (Ghost of Hamlet's Father/Player King/Gravedigger, 2008), Twelfth Night (as Sir Toby Belch, 2009), and the title role in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (2011).
Sanders appeared in the Apple Family Plays, a series of plays written by Richard Nelson which ran off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in 2010 (That Hopey Changey Thing), 2011 (Sweet and Sad), 2012 (Sorry), and 2013 (Regular Singing). Sanders has appeared in more plays at the Delacorte Theatre (Shakespeare in Central Park) than any other actor to date. His first play, Unexplored Interior, about the Rwandan genocide debuted in November 2015 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington D.C. He had been working on it for more than a decade.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Starting Over | Larry | Credited as Jay Sanders |
| 1982 | Hanky Panky | Katz | |
| 1983 | Cross Creek | Charles Rawlings | |
| 1983 | Eddie Macon's Run | Rudy Potts | |
| 1987 | The Misfit Brigade | Lance Corporal Wolfgang "Tiny" Creutzfeldt | |
| 1988 | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Kirby, Tucker's Attorney | |
| 1988 | The Prince of Pennsylvania | Trooper Joe | |
| 1989 | Glory | General George Crockett Strong | |
| 1989 | A Man Called Hawk | Officer Brogan | |
| 1989 | The Young Riders | Longley | |
| 1990 | Mr. Destiny | Jackie Earle "Cement Head" Bumpers | |
| 1991 | JFK | Lou Ivon | |
| 1991 | Meeting Venus | Stephen Taylor | |
| 1991 | V.I. Warshawski | Murray Ryerson | |
| 1992 | Hostages | Terry A. Anderson | |
| 1993 | My Boyfriend's Back | Sheriff McCloud | |
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | Ranch Wilder | |
| 1994 | State of Emergency | Dr. Jeffrey Forrest | |
| 1995 | The Big Green | Coach Jay Huffer | |
| 1995 | Kiss of Death | Federal Agent | Uncredited |
| 1995 | Silver Strand | Lucas Hughes | |
| 1995 | Three Wishes | Coach Schramka | |
| 1996 | Daylight | Steven Crighton | |
| 1997 | For Richer or Poorer | Samuel Yoder | |
| 1997 | The Matchmaker | Senator John McGlory | |
| 1997 | Kiss the Girls | FBI Agent Kyle Craig | |
| 1998 | The Odd Couple II | Leroy | |
| 1999 | Music of the Heart | Dan Paxton | |
| 1999 | The Confession | Jack Renoble | |
| 1999 | Tumbleweeds | Dan Miller | |
| 2001 | Along Came a Spider | FBI Agent Kyle Craig | |
| 2001 | The Familiar Stranger | Patrick Hennessy Welsh Timothy Michael Kingsbury | |
| 2003 | Abby Singer | Kevin's Father | |
| 2004 | The Day After Tomorrow | Frank Harris | |
| 2004 | Hair High | Football Announcer (voice) | |
| 2006 | Half Nelson | Russ Dunne | |
| 2006 | Wedding Daze | Police Officer | |
| 2007 | Greetings from the Shore | Commodore Callaghan | |
| 2007 | Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial | The Narrator | Documentary film |
| 2008 | Revolutionary Road | Bart Pollock | |
| 2008 | Cadillac Records | Mr. Feder | |
| 2008 | Poundcake | Cliff | |
| 2009 | I Hate Valentine's Day | Tim, The Delivery Guy | |
| 2010 | Edge of Darkness | Detective Bill Whitehouse | |
| 2010 | Zenith | Doug Oberts | |
| 2011 | Green Lantern | Carl Ferris | |
| 2011 | The Jewel | Mr. Rothman | |
| 2011 | The Undying | Dr. Richard Lassiter | |
| 2011 | A Novel Romance | Walter Evans | |
| 2013 | Northern Borders | Agent Sanders | |
| 2013 | Bones of the Buddha | The Narrator | Documentary film |
| 2017 | Search for the Super Battery | The Narrator | Documentary film |
| 2019 | The Assistant | Boss (voice) | |
| 2022 | When You Finish Saving the World | Roger Katz | |
| 2022 | Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths | Ambassador Jones | |
| 2023 | His Three Daughters | Vincent "Vinny" | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | The Day Christ Died | Simon Peter | Television film |
| 1983 | Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr. Story | Dick Willey | Television film |
| 1983–1984 | AfterMASH | Dr. Gene Pfeiffer | 10 episodes |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Detective Tim Duryea | Episode: "The Maze" |
| 1986–1988 | Crime Story | Steven Kordo | 12 episodes |
| 1989 | Booker | Gordon Rudd | Episode: "All You Gotta Do Is Do It" |
| 1989 | Kate & Allie | Tim Mayer | Episode: "What's Love Got to Do with It?" |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Detective Michael Phillips | Episode: "Watts a Matter?" |
| 1990–1991 | Roseanne | Norbert "Ziggy" Walsh | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Northern Exposure | Dr. John Summers | Episode: "Jaws of Life" |
| 1995 | Down Came a Blackbird | Jan Talbeck | Television film |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Ed Barkley | Episode: "The Voyage Home" |
| 1999 | Earthly Possessions | Jack Emery | Television film |
| 1999 | A.T.F. | Sam Sinclair | Television film |
| 1999 | The Jack Bull | Attorney General Metcalfe | Television film |
| 1999 | Law & Order | Nick Taska / Bill Fallon | Episode: "Tabula Rasa" |
| 2000 | Picnic | Unknown | Television film |
| 2001 | Boss of Bosses | Joseph O'Brien | Television film |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Harry Rowan | Episode: "Dead" |
| 2002 | Widows | Detective John Maynard | 4 episodes |
| 2002–2009 | Wide Angle | The Narrator | 63 episodes |
| 2003 | D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear | Douglas Duncan | Television film |
| 2006 | The Valley of Light | Howard | Television film |
| 2006–present | Nova | The Narrator | 70 episodes |
| 2010 | Hardcover Mysteries | The Narrator | 8 episodes |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Captain Joseph Hannah | Main role; 8 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Pan Am | Douglas Vanderway | 3 episodes |
| 2011–2016 | The Good Wife | Judge Hal Ferris | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Blue Bloods | Jimmy Reagan | Episode: "Reagan V. Reagan" |
| 2012–2014 | Person of Interest | Special Counsel | 9 episodes |
| 2012–present | Secrets of the Dead | The Narrator | 24 episodes |
| 2013 | Hostages | Lynn Shipley | Episode: "The Cost of Living" |
| 2014 | True Detective | Billy Lee Tuttle | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Dawn of Humanity | The Narrator | 1 episode |
| 2015 | American Odyssey | Alex | 8 episodes |
| 2015–2020 | Blindspot | Bill Weller | 11 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | Sneaky Pete | Sam | 15 episodes |
| 2018 | The Sinner | Chief Tom Lidell | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Reverend Cray | Episode: "Down by Law" |
| 2020 | Manhunt: Deadly Games | Jack Bryant | 6 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1976 | Henry V | Earl of Westmoreland | Shakespeare in the Park |
| 1976 | Measure for Measure | Barnardine | Shakespeare in the Park |
| 1978 | Buried Child | Bradley | Theater for the New City |
| 1979 | Loose Ends | Doug | Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway |
| 1983 | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | Lt. Stephen Maryk | Circle in the Square, Broadway |
| 1993 | Saint Joan | Dunois | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway |
| 2007 | Pygmalion | Alfred Doolittle | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
| 2020 | Girl from the North Country | Nick Laine | Belasco Theatre, Broadway |
| 2023 | Primary Trust | Clay | Laura Pels Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 2023 | Purlie Victorious | Ol' Captain Cotchipee | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Manhunt 2 | The Pervs | |
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption | D.S. MacKenna, Mr. Philmore | |
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare | D.S. MacKenna | Uncredited |

## Awards and honors

He received the 2018 Joe A. Callaway Award, presented by the Actors’ Equity Foundation for "best performance in a professional production of a classic play", for his performance in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. He also received the Drama Desk Award for 2019 for Actor in a Play for Uncle Vanya. In 2024, he received an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play for his performance in Primary Trust.