Where did The Blacklist cast get their start? Check out some of their first roles here.
James Spader as Raymond Reddington
Spader was a star well before he joined The Blacklist cast. His first role is listed as Jimmy on movie, Team-Mates. In the 1980s, he had roles on some of the decades notable movies, including Pretty in Pink, Mannequin, Baby Boom, Less than Zero, Wall Street, and Sex, Lies and Videotape. He never stopped making films throughout the 1990-2000s. He also stopped by Seinfield in 1997 as Jason ‘Stanky’ Hanky. Spader made the move to TV as Alan Shore, first on The Practice and then on Boston Legal. Before The Blacklist, he played Robert California on 25 episodes of The Office.
James Spader in Team-Mates
In 1978, James Spader had his first acting role in the movie, Team-Mates. He portrayed teenager, Jimmy.
Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
Boone’s first movie role was in 2007’s The Mustachioed Bandit Meets His End as Kate. Her start on television was a guest spot on The Cleaner in 2008 as Rae. She had roles in a few movies, before getting her first multi-role TV role as Deputy DA Lauren Stanton on Law & Order: LA. She’s navigated towards law enforcement roles by playing Detective Candice McElroy on Blue Bloods before portraying Agent Elizabeth Keen on The Blacklist.
Megan Boone in The Mustachioed Bandit Meets His End
Boone’s first role was in the 2007 movie, The Mustachioed Bandit Meets His End, as Kate.
Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
Klattenhoff started out in 2001 with a role on the television show, Doc. In 2006, he had his first multi-episode role in At the Hotel as Young Jacob, which he followed up with guest spots on Psych, Supernatural, as well as, roles on a few TV movies. Before joining The Blacklist, Klattenhoff starred on Whistler in 2007, played Ivan Palacinke on Men in Trees the next year, Mike Callahan on Mercy in 2010 and Mike Faber on Homeland Season 1 and 2. He was also on the big screen in After Earth and Pacific Rim.
Diego Klattenhoff on 1-800-Missing
Klattenhoff portrayed Brad Whitman, who was accused of killing a woman he had a one-night stand with, on an episode of 1-800-Missing in 2004.
Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
Lennix’s first credited role was in the Gene Hackman movie, The Package, as Johnny’s Field Soldier in 1989. He continued to take roles on television and TV movies until 1997 when he had a six episode stint on ER as Dr. Greg Fischer and then the next year on Diagnosis Murder as Agent Ron Wagner. His never slowed down his work on both TV and movies. In 2006, he had his first series regular role as Jim Gardner on Commander in Chief. He followed that up with an arc on 24: Day 6, then Boyd Langton on Dollhouse and in 2012 he played Tim Dupre on Emily Owens, M.D. Prior to The Blacklist coming out, he was seen as General Swanwick in the Superman movie, Man of Steel.
Harry Lennix in Guarding Tess
In 1994, Harry Lennix portrayed Kenny Young in the movie, Guarding Tess.
Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen
Eggold got his start on an episode of Related as Lloyd in 2006. He also made stops on Brothers & Sisters, Veronica Mars, and as a Barrista on The Young and the Restless. In 2008, he landed the role of Farber Kauffman for seven episodes of Dirt. In 2011, he had his longest lasting role as Ryan Matthews on 90210.
Ryan Eggold on Related
Eggold had his first role on the WB show, Related, as Lloyd in. He’s standing in line.
Amir Arison as Aram Mojtaba
Arison’s first role was as Armande, a photographer on Guiding Light. His early roles included guest spots on The Jury, Law & Order, Hope & Faith, and two separate roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. His first multi-episode prime-time arc was as Dr. Manning on Law & Order: SVU between 2009-2011. (He had previously had a different role on the series in 2005 ad Dr. Ghupta.) He portrayed a prince on Homeland in 2011. His longest role before The Blacklist was as Dr. Gurveer on the TV series, H+. He went on to play Theo Riley on six episodes of Zero Hour and had a stint on Girls as Kevin Mimma.
Amir Arison on Law & Order: SVU
Amir Arison portrayed Dr. Manning on Law & Order: SVU over several episodes starting in 2009.
