Multiple Emmy Award winner James Spader (“Boston Legal,” “The Practice”) will be joining the regular cast of NBC’s “The Office” (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET) as CEO Robert California of Sabre, the parent company of Dunder Mifflin.
“James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” said Paul Lieberstein, one of the series’ executive producers and a series regular. “He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and ‘The Office’ has no tools for dealing with this guy. We’re thrilled he’s joining our cast.”
Some of Spader’s credits include: Steven Soderbergh’s “sex, lies and videotape,” which won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival; David Croenenberg’s “Crash,” which won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes; and Steven Shainberg’s “Secretary,” which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. His other film credits include “2 Days in the Valley,” “Wolf,” and “Less Than Zero.” Spader will be shooting Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks feature “Lincoln” later this year while he is shooting “The Office.”
From 2004-08, Spader won three Emmy awards for his seminal role as shameless attorney Alan Shore in “The Practice” and “Boston Legal,” making him the only actor to win consecutive Emmys playing the same character on two different series. He is represented at ICM and Melanie Cook.
