james spader

Best actor in a dramatic series went to James Spader for his role as a lawyer in 'Boston Legal'.

Two-time Academy winning actress Sally Field won the award for best actress in a dramatic series for her role in 'Brothers and Sisters' at the 59th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

Best actor in a dramatic series went to James Spader for his role as a lawyer in 'Boston Legal'.

Field's comments had to bleeped since she started talking about the war in Iraq.

She later told reporters that she wanted to say something about mums whose son's aren't coming home.

"I said goddamn, wanted to say something about the mothers whose sons aren't coming home. I can't imagine. I can't imagine,' People magazine quoted her, as saying.

'Ugly Betty' star America Ferrera was adjudged the best actress in a comedy for her role in the smash hit series.

Ricky Gervais was named best actor in a comedy series, for Extras.

Jeremy Piven, won his second consecutive Emmy as supporting actor in a comedy series for 'Entourage'.

"I want to thank the entire crew. I don't know any of their names," he joked.

Jaime Pressly bagged her second consecutive Emmy, for supporting actress in a comedy series for My Name Is Earl.

The Sopranos and 30 Rock won the awards for best dramatic and comedy series, respectively.

The list of the 59th annual Primetime Emmy Awards winners is as follows:
By all standards, it was this close to a perfect Emmys night, or at least as close as the Emmys might ever be to getting it right.

The most deserving people were winning, great shows and performances were being rewarded and then, in one horrifying moment, these seven words sent a dark cloud over the entire proceedings:

"And the Emmy goes to James Spader."

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Now, I have nothing against Spader personally. For all I know, he might be a great guy, a terrific buddy to hang around with, watch ball games and/or drink a bottle of wine, but when it comes to Emmy, the mere thought that he would win over James Gandolfini for Gandolfini's final and possibly best season of "The Sopranos" sends shivers up the spine of anyone who gives a damn about television.

Spader's win for best actor in a drama sent the crowd at the Shrine Auditorium into a sense of disbelief, much like the reaction Spader had as well when he reached the stage. Even he knew a crime had been committed.

"I really thought anybody but myself," Spader said in assessing his chances to win. "To be fair, everyone who was nominated was deserving but with it being James' last season on 'Sopranos' and Hugh Laurie is due for one of these. And I told Kiefer (Sutherland) that I use him as an example as the hardest worker of all of us. He's in every scene and every frame. It could've been anybody but me."

Spader must be super impressive in his episodes submitted because he has now won three times ― the same as Gandolfini ― each year that he's been nominated.

Let that sink in your head for a bit: James Spader has won the same amount of Emmys for male lead in a drama as James Gandolfini. And the TV Academy wonders why some question the validity of the awards.

But if we can put that giant miscue aside, the rest of the winners were certainly wise and worthy choices, maybe none more so than "30 Rock" and Ricky Gervais, two underdogs who weren't given slim chances for pulling an upset.

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Sept. 17: "30 Rock" took one home for best comedy series. TODAY's Natalie Morales on the highs and lows of last night's awards show.
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If any show can use the support of an Emmy win, it's "30 Rock." Combining comic sophistication that reminds us of the days of "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Taxi," "30 Rock" climbed a huge mountain defeating freshman favorite "Ugly Betty," niche hit "The Office" and the most-watched comedy on TV, "Two and a Half Men."

There's no direct correlation between Emmy wins and ratings ― feel free to ask "Arrested Development" folks if you don't believe me ― but this should help. And a show as good as "30 Rock" isn't too proud to ask for all the help it can get.

To see Gervais comedically joust with the likes of Stephen Merchant on a weekly basis was pure joy (not to mention his hilariously uncomfortable sparring sessions with the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Ian McKellen and David Bowie), and kudos here to the Academy for acknowledging Gervais when very few members watched the six-episode HBO series when it aired last year.

As for the big prize of the night, even though voters mistakenly catapulted Spader over Gandolfini, they had the smarts to end the run of "The Sopranos" with best drama. The moment felt like it lacked any type of surprise, but that's actually a good thing. Just because we expect something to happen doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.

Amazing run for 'Amazing Race'
For best reality show, "The Amazing Race" juggernaut continues to mow down any competition that dares to stand in its way. Winning for the fifth time in a row, the series is an awards express train, even running over "American Idol."

Obviously, with both "Amazing Race" and "30 Rock" winning, it means that voters aren't equating quality with ratings, and that allows for the best shows and actors to be acknowledged, even though they may not be seen by the largest viewing audience.


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Who do you think was robbed by Emmy?


As irritating as it was seeing Spader defeating Gandolfini, I don't feel the same injustice was being bestowed upon Edie Falco, Gandolfini's on-screen wife. She's also won three times before but wasn't a central figure in this last season and voting her as top drama actress ― based not on her work from this season but as a series-long appreciation ― would've been wrong.

Sally Field was a deserving choice in a close race, especially because she brought gravitas to the role as the matriarch in "Brothers & Sisters." In her speech, she gave a shout out and words of encouragement and solitude to all the mothers who have seen their sons and daughters to fight a war and then never come back.

If mothers ruled the world, there would never be war, she exclaimed. Perhaps.

Unfortunately, much of the fiery ― and some say political ― aspects of the speech were censored, so at-home viewers didn't get the full force of Field's anti-Bush Administration feelings. But the audience, through its raucous applause, liked it, they really liked it.


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Discuss: Who do you think deserved to win?


Emmy finds itself at a distinct disadvantage versus Oscar because many of the same shows and actors are nominated year after year and there's this sense of déjà vu. And while there were a few winners we've seen before ― Helen Mirren, Jeremy Piven (both deserving but it would be nice to see a change) ― what made these Emmys feel a bit fresher is that new blood was recognized.

"30 Rock," Gervais, America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" and Terry O'Quinn of "Lost" can all now classify themselves as Emmy winners.

Next year, if we're lucky, there'll be a new batch and the wealth will be spread. James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts), who is known to prefer being called "Jimmy",[1] is a three-time Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American actor[2] who is best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape (for which he won the Best Actor[3] award at the Cannes Film Festival), Stargate, and Secretary. Known for his mastery of the smarmy, sexually deviant yuppie, Spader got his start in Pretty in Pink. In October 2006, Spader narrated China Revealed, the first episode of Discovery Channel's documentary series Discovery Atlas.

Spader currently stars as the popular lead character Alan Shore in the TV series Boston Legal, where he has reprised his role from the TV series The Practice. Creator David E. Kelley spun-off characters from The Practice to create a drama with a "magnificent ensemble cast" that is "equally fresh, funny, and infectiously entertaining. Fast-paced and darkly comedic, the series confronts social and moral issues, while its characters continually stretch the boundaries of the law."[4] Spader won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy Award[5] for his portrayal of Alan Shore in 2004 on The Practice and won it again in 2005 for Boston Legal. Spader has became one of the few actors to win consecutive Emmy Awards for playing the same character on two different series (another being co-star William Shatner). Spader won the Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for Boston Legal in 2006 and took home his third Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his Alan Shore character in 2007.[6]

Spader attended The Pike School, where his mother taught art and Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, and where his father, Todd, also taught. The family lived on campus, and Spader is one of the school's most famous students. Afterwards he attended Phillips Academy, but he dropped out in the eleventh grade to pursue acting in New York City.

He met his wife, Victoria Kheel, a decorator, while working in a yoga studio soon after he moved to New York in the early 1980s. She often traveled with him, either on location or just on the road. They married in 1987 and had two sons, Sebastian and Elijah. Spader and Kheel divorced in 2004. James Spader currently has plans to marry his girlfriend, Leslie Stefanson.[7]

Spader loves to cook, has very poor eyesight, and usually points out that even though his characters can be sleazy at times, he is actually a nice, friendly guy in real