1969–1976: Broadway debut and early work Woods appeared in 36 plays before making his Broadway debut in the 1969 play
The Penny Wars. The following year he acted in the first American production of
Frank McMahon's adaptation of
Brendan Behan's
Borstal Boy (1970) at the
Lyceum Theatre. He got the part by pretending he was British. He returned to Broadway the following year to portray David Darst in
Daniel Berrigan's
The Trial of the Catonsville Nine also at the
Lyceum Theatre. In 1971, he played Bob Rettie in the American premiere of
Michael Weller's
Moonchildren at the
Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The following year the production moved to Broadway at the
Royale Theatre where Woods starred alongside
Edward Herrmann and
Christopher Guest. In 1972, Woods won a
Theatre World Award for his performance. He returned to Broadway in 1973 to portray Steven Cooper in the original production of
Jean Kerr's
Finishing Touches at the
Plymouth Theatre. Woods has garnered a reputation as a prominent
Hollywood character actor, having appeared in over 130 films and television series. By the early 1970s, he was getting small movie roles including his feature film debut in
Elia Kazan's
The Visitors which debuted at the
1972 Cannes Film Festival. That same year he acted in the neo-noir crime film
Hickey & Boggs (1972) starring
Robert Culp and
Bill Cosby. The following year he had a supporting turn as
Barbra Streisand's college boyfriend before she meets
Robert Redford in the
Sydney Pollack directed romance drama
The Way We Were (1973).
1978–1989: Breakthrough and acclaim Woods rose to prominence playing the husband of
Meryl Streep in the critically acclaimed four episode miniseries
Holocaust (1978) which aired on
NBC. The series focuses on the story of a Jewish family's struggle to survive
Nazi Germany's
campaign of genocide against the Jewish people. The series also starred
Michael Moriarty and
Rosemary Harris.
Holocaust won the
Outstanding Limited Series as well as seven other
Primetime Emmy Awards. The following year Woods took a leading role starring in
The Onion Field (1979) playing murderer
Gregory Powell. Critic
Gene Siskel of
The Chicago Tribune praised Woods' performance writing, "At the center of
The Onion Field is a bunch of superior performances. James Woods (the persecuted artist in "The Holocaust") is a standout as Greg Powell, the ringleader of the crooks, a horrible creature with a scarred face and a quicksilver personality that ranges from murderous to fatherly to murderous in a matter of seconds." He also opined that "Woods deserves an Academy Award nomination for this role." Woods received nominations for Best Actor from the
Golden Globe Awards, the
National Society of Film Critics, and the
New York Film Critics Circle Association, but notably not from the
Academy Awards. in 1992 At the start of the 1980s, Woods played an eccentric and unpredictable janitor in the
Peter Yates directed thriller
Eyewitness (1981) co-starring
Sigourney Weaver,
William Hurt,
Morgan Freeman and
Christopher Plummer. He acted in the prison drama
Fast-Walking (1982) with
Variety giving the film a mixed review but praising him as "always interesting to watch". That same year he acted in the psychological drama
Split Image (1982). Woods took the starring role in the
David Cronenberg written and directed
science-fiction body horror film
Videodrome (1983). Critic
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times praised the film and the leading performance writing, "By far Mr. Cronenberg's most inspired touch is the casting of Mr. Woods, who brings an almost backhanded heroism to the horror genre. In villainous or sinister roles...Mr. Woods has been startling, but that kind of casting is almost a redundancy. Here, his offhand wisecracking gives the performance a sharply authentic edge. And his jittery, insinuating manner even begins to look like a kind of innocence, in comparison with the calm, soothing attitudes of the video-crazed megalomaniacs he's up against." He then took on the role of Maximillian "Max" Bercovicz, a Jewish gangster, in
Sergio Leone's epic
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) alongside
Robert De Niro,
Tuesday Weld, and
Joe Pesci. Woods considers his role in the film as one of his favorites. The film premiered at the
1984 Cannes Film Festival and received a 15-minute standing ovation.
Rotten Tomatoes reports an 86% approval rating with 51 reviews, the consensus reading, "Sergio Leone's epic crime drama is visually stunning, stylistically bold, and emotionally haunting, and filled with great performances from the likes of Robert De Niro and James Woods." That same year, he also starred in
Against All Odds as a nightclub owner who hires an aging football star, played by
Jeff Bridges, to find his missing girlfriend. In
Oliver Stone's drama
Salvador (1986), Woods portrayed real-life journalist
Richard Boyle as he chronicles events in
El Salvador. Despite his criticism that ""Salvador" is long and disjointed and tries to tell too many stories,"
Roger Ebert wrote in the
Chicago Sun-Times, "This is the sort of role Woods was born to play". He won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor. He also received his first
Academy Award nomination for his performance. In 1987, Woods won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role as a disabled man in the made-for-television film
Promise (1986). The film also starred
James Garner and
Piper Laurie. In 1989, Woods won his second
Primetime Emmy Award, for his role as the founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous,
Bill W. in the made-for-television drama film,
My Name Is Bill W. starring
James Garner and
Gary Sinise. In 1988, Woods portrayed a man struggling with
cocaine addiction in
The Boost. While the film received mixed reviews Woods' was praised for his performance with Critic
Roger Ebert declaring that it was "one of the most convincing and horrifying portraits of drug addiction I've ever seen". He also added, "Woods is one of the most intense, unpredictable actors in the movies today. You watch his characters because they seem capable of exploding – not out of anger, but out of hurt, shame and low self-esteem. They're wounded, but they fight back by being smarter than anyone else and using jokes and sarcasm to keep people at arm's length." On October 28, 1989, Woods hosted
Saturday Night Live with
Don Henley as the musical guest. In 1989, Woods acted in the courtroom drama
True Believer with
Robert Downey Jr. and
Yuji Okumoto and family drama
Immediate Family acting alongside
Glenn Close,
Mary Stuart Masterson and
Kevin Dillon. Of the latter, critic
Roger Ebert noted of his performance "Woods is toned down from his other recent performances. He is the best actor in Hollywood at playing manics, crazies, hyperactive schemers and intelligent con men, but here he simply plays a more or less normal husband with ordinary desires and passions. He and Close make a convincing couple."
1990–1999: Established actor Woods was offered a leading role in
Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, the
low-budget film Reservoir Dogs (1992), but his agent rejected the script without showing it to the actor. When Woods learned of this some time later, he fired his agents (
CAA), replacing them with
ICM. That year, he did portray
Roy Cohn in the
HBO television film
Citizen Cohn (1992) directed by
Frank Pierson and featuring performances by
Lee Grant,
Frederic Forrest and
Pat Hingle. Tony Scott of
Variety praised the film and Woods writing, "It's Cohn's show and James Woods, in imaginative casting, is unnerving, ranging from the confused hospital-ridden patient to the smartly paced, homophobic gay prosecutor who knows every vicious trick to nail opponents. Woods's interp, chock-full of nuances, is masterful." For his performance he received nominations for the
Golden Globe Award and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie. He also took a supporting role as attorney
Joseph Scott in the
Richard Attenborough directed biographical epic film
Chaplin (1992) starring
Robert Downey Jr. Woods played a supporting role of a hustler, Lester Diamond, in
Martin Scorsese's
Casino (1995), alongside
Robert De Niro,
Sharon Stone and
Joe Pesci. When Woods had heard that Scorsese was interested in working with him, he called Scorsese's office and left the following message: "Any time, any place, any part, any fee." The film was well received by critics, earning a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "Impressive ambition and bravura performances from an outstanding cast help
Casino pay off in spite of a familiar narrative that may strike some viewers as a safe bet for director Martin Scorsese." Also in 1995, he starred as
H. R. Haldeman in Oliver Stone's
Nixon, opposite
Anthony Hopkins as
Richard Nixon. Woods received a
Screen Actors Guild Award nomination along with the rest of the cast for its
ensemble work. That same year he acted in the
HBO television film
Indictment: The McMartin Trial acting opposite
Mercedes Ruehl earning nominations for
Golden Globe Award and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie. benefit in September 1990 In
Rob Reiner's film
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Woods appeared alongside
Alec Baldwin and
Whoopi Goldberg. He portrayed
Byron De La Beckwith, a
white supremacist who assassinated civil rights leader
Medgar Evers in 1963. The film was not a box-office success and received mixed reviews, earning a critics' review of 43% on
Rotten Tomatoes. However, some critics praised Woods' performance.
Janet Maslin, in her
New York Times review, states, "Woods's performance as the hateful old reprobate Beckwith is the film's chief sign of life". The
Los Angeles Times published an article titled "James Woods is So Good at Being Bad". In the articles it describes Woods having aggressively lobbied director Rob Reiner for the role, which Reiner originally intended for an actor in his 70s, like
Paul Newman. "Beckwith's Mississippi accent, which Woods perfected by watching tapes and working with an accent coach, helped him distance himself from the character. 'I imagined I was speaking a foreign language'." Woods would later voice
Hades in the
Disney Animated film,
Hercules (1997), where he received critical praise. Critic
Roger Ebert described Woods' performance as full of "diabolical glee" and compared his performance of "verbal inventiveness" to that of
Robin Williams in
Aladdin. Janet Maslin of
The New York Times also praised Woods' performance remarking "Woods shows off the full verve of an edgy Scarfe villain". He reprised the role of Hades again in the
television series of the same name (where he won a
Daytime Emmy Award in 2000 for his work in season 2), as well as in
House of Mouse (2001–2003), the
Kingdom Hearts video game series,
Disney Speedstorm (2023), and
Once Upon a Studio (2023). Woods appeared in
Sofia Coppola's directorial debut
The Virgin Suicides (1999) alongside
Kirsten Dunst,
Josh Hartnett and
Kathleen Turner. The film premiered at the
1999 Cannes Film Festival to a largely positive critical reception.
2000–present During the 2000s, Woods lent his voice to various films, video games, and television shows including another
Disney film, ''
Recess: School's Out (2001) as Dr. Phillium Benedict, the twisted former headmaster who attempts to abolish summer vacation. Woods would also voice Falcon in Stuart Little 2 (2002). He appeared in the Denzel Washington thriller John Q. (2002) and had a cameo in Be Cool (2005), featuring an all-star cast. In 2007, Woods voiced the role of Reggie Belafonte, a short-tempered sea otter, in the Sony Pictures Animation film, Surf's Up''. The character is a
Don King-like promoter for the main character's rival. The film went on to receive an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Animated Feature losing to
Pixar's
Ratatouille. From 2005 to 2016, Woods has played a recurring role as himself in
Seth MacFarlane's
Family Guy. He has continued to voice
Hades in the
Kingdom Hearts video games. Since 2016, he has also voiced the role of
Lex Luthor in the animated series
Justice League Action. From 2006 to 2008, Woods starred in the
CBS legal drama series
Shark. He played an infamous
defense lawyer who, after growing disillusioned when his client commits a murder, becomes a successful prosecutor with the
Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. In 2011, Woods starred in the
HBO television drama film
Too Big to Fail based on the
2009 book of the same name by
Andrew Ross Sorkin. He acted alongside
Paul Giamatti,
William Hurt,
Cynthia Nixon,
Tony Shalhoub and
Bill Pullman. Woods played
Richard S. Fuld, Jr., chairman and CEO of
Lehman Brothers. Ken Tucker of
Entertainment Weekly praised Woods' writing that he "embodyed the role with macho aggression with snake-oil smoothness". For his performance Woods earned nominations for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie and
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 2012, Woods appeared in the limited series
Coma alongside
Geena Davis,
Richard Dreyfuss, and
Ellen Burstyn. The series was produced by
Ridley Scott, and
Tony Scott and premiered on
A&E. In 2013, Woods joined
Showtime's critically acclaimed series
Ray Donovan in a recurring role as Patrick "Sully" Sullivan also starring
Liev Schreiber, and
Jon Voight. , Woods, and
Robert De Niro at a screening of
Once Upon a Time in America at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2012 He also appeared as a fictional version of himself in the episode of
The Simpsons entitled "
Homer and Apu" and in eight episodes of
Family Guy, which is set in Woods' home state of
Rhode Island. He is also the namesake for James Woods Regional High School in
Family Guy. The high school's name was later changed to Adam West High School to reflect the death of
Adam West, who was a character in the show. Woods has lent his voice to video games such as
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2012, Woods attended an anniversary screening of a restored cut of
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) at the
65th Cannes Film Festival. The screening was made possible by
Martin Scorsese and his
Film Foundation which digitally restored the film as well as included 40 additional minutes of footage. Woods, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Connelly, and
Elizabeth McGovern attended the premiere and introduced the film. In 2014, Woods joined Robert De Niro for an anniversary screening of
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) at the 52nd
New York Film Festival at
Film Society at Lincoln Center. In 2017, Woods made a rare public appearance at the
Writers Guild of America Awards to honor his friend
Oliver Stone, with whom he had collaborated three times (
Salvador,
Nixon, and
Any Given Sunday), who was receiving the lifetime achievement award. During the ceremony, Woods bantered with host
Patton Oswalt. Woods served as an executive producer on
Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller
Oppenheimer (2023). Woods and J. David Wargo were thanked when the film won the
Academy Award for Best Picture by producer
Charles Roven who credited them for giving him the book
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer which was the basis for the film. In 2024 he released the album “Hear The Thunder Crack”, where he wrote all the lyrics and words, while
Shooter Jennings created and performed the music. == Personal life ==