James Spader

Has an eidetic memory. He can look at a script and he remembers what the pages look like. As he films a scene, he "reads" the page. The only reason he screws up a line is if very similar words (e.g. "it" and "is") are written fairly close together.
Has very poor eyesight, and cannot wear contact lenses. Has said that in roles in which he does not wear his eyeglasses, he can barely make out the face of the actor across from him in the scene.
He was working as a janitor at a rehearsal studio run by acting teacher & casting director Trent Gough in Times Square when he landed his first feature film Amor eterno (1981).
Loves cooking and is an excellent chef.
Is quick to point out that, unlike the sleazy, sneaky characters he is best known for playing, he is actually a nice, friendly man in real life.

If I don't need the money, I don't work. I don't mind going to somebody and saying, "Okay, this is how much money I need to pay my bills for the next six months. If you pay me that, I'll do the film.".
[Why did he accept the lead in Sexo, mentiras y video (1989)?] I took the film because I was interested in doing that part. Looking at work as stepping stones is something I don't have any time or energy for. It seems a shame to look at your work as some sort of means to an end, because the end is death, you know? The means is the flesh and blood, so you had better enjoy it. Fuck the end.
If I don't need the money, I don't work. I'm going to spend time with my family and friends, and I'm going to travel and read and listen to music and try to learn a little bit more about how to be a human being, as opposed to learning how to be somebody else.
Studio people are afraid of Crash. Extraños placeres (1996). It makes a statement about whoever releases the film. Miramax took a lot of flak for releasing Kids, vidas perdidas (1995). The same will happen for whoever releases Crash. Extraños placeres (1996).
I have my own artistic sensibilities and Crash. Extraños placeres (1996) complements them. It is a provocative, challenging, disturbing film made for adults. It's not a skeleton in the closet for me.