Jay O. Sanders


Jay Olcutt Sanders is an American actor who has worked in theatre, film, and TV, known for JFK. He frequently appears in plays Off-Broadway at The Public Theatre.

Early life and education

Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, Texas, to Phyllis Rae and James Olcutt Sanders. After attending the acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase, 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.

Career

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 and Green Lantern. He has appeared in many other notable films, however, including Glory, JFK, Angels in the Outfield, Half Nelson, and Revolutionary Road.
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 2002–2009 and has served as narrator for a number of Nova episodes starting in 2007.
On stage, Sanders has appeared on Broadway in Loose Ends, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Saint Joan, and Pygmalion.
Off-Broadway, he appeared as George W. Bush in Sir David Hare's Stuff Happens in 2006. He then played in a number of Shakespearean plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and the title role in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.
Sanders appeared in the Richard Nelson Apple Family Plays, a series of plays which ran Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Sanders has appeared in more plays by the Delacorte Theatre than any other actor to date.
In 2015, Sanders debuted his first play, Unexplored Interior, about the Rwandan genocide, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C.
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.

Filmography

Film

Television

Videogames