Biography
Jay Olcutt Sanders (born April 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is noted for his TV roles as Bill Weller on Blindspot, Jack Bryant on Manhunt, Chief Tom Lidell on The Sinner, Det. John Maynard on Widows, Capt. Joseph Hannah on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and mob lawyer Steven Kordo in NBC's detective series Crime Story (1986-1988), as well as his film roles on The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Green Lantern (2011), and the Alex Cross films starring Morgan Freeman. He has appeared in many other...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Girl From the North Country
2024
as Nick Laine
Set in 1934 Duluth, Minnesota, during the Great Depression, Girl from the North Country centres on Nick Laine, who struggles to keep his guesthouse af...

His Three Daughters
2024
as Vincent
Emotions run high when three estranged sisters reunite in a cramped New York City apartment to watch over their ailing father during his final days.

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
2024
as Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee
The comedic play tells the story of a Black preacher’s scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church from a plantation owner.

Outrage
2023
as Frank Brand
In a secluded French château, a group of elite media and political personalities gather for a private dinner party. Beneath the glitz and glamor lie d...

When You Finish Saving the World
2023
as Roger
Evelyn and her oblivious son Ziggy seek out replacements for each other. As Evelyn tries to parent an unassuming teenager at her shelter, Ziggy fumble...

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
2022
as Ambassador Jones
A renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, after being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, i...

The Road to Galena
2022
as John Baird
Cole Baird has everything—a beautiful wife, successful career, large home, country club membership and expensive toys. Behind the facade, however, is ...

Incidental Moments of the Day
2020
as Richard Apple
The final installment of "The Apple Family: Life on Zoom" trilogy, featuring Lucy Michael of "The Michaels."

And So We Come Forth
2020
as Richard Apple
The Apple Family reunites to discuss recent events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tapes
2020
Tapes is about a young woman (Maddie) who discovers a recording of her parents' couples therapy session from 30 years earlier, which exposes a secret ...

What Do We Need to Talk About?
2020
as Richard Apple
In the midst of our unsettled world, the Apple Family, last seen in 2014, return, though not over the dinner table, but via Zoom. This hour-long play ...

That Hopey Changey Thing
2020
as Richard Apple
Set on election day, November 2, 2010. Uncle Benjamin’s dog has died, and his nieces and nephew have gathered for dinner in Rhinebeck, New York, to su...

Regular Singing
2020
as Richard Apple
The fourth and final play in this captivating series, Regular Singing, opened on November 22, 2013 – the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination that ...

Sweet and Sad
2020
as Richard Apple
The Apple Family finds themselves together again for the first time since Election Night, 2010. Marian, reeling from a personal tragedy, now lives wit...

Sorry
2020
as Richard Apple
A year after Sweet and Sad, the Apple Family again share a meal in Rhinebeck, NY, as they sort through personal and political feelings of loss and con...

The Assistant
2020
as Boss (voice)
A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the in...

NOVA: Decoding da Vinci
2019
as Narrator (voice)
Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance genius. Not only did he paint masterpieces of art, but he was an obsessive scientist and inventor, dreaming up com...

Uncle Vanya
2019
as Vanya
Vanya and his niece Sonya struggle to care for the estate owned by Vanya’s brother-in-law Alexánder, a wealthy professor. When he returns with a beaut...

DC Noir
2019
as Sgt. Peters
A crime anthology film based on George Pelecanos' book of the same title.

Saving the Dead Sea
2019
As the Dead Sea shrinks, engineers prepare a daring solution: connect it with the Red Sea by way of a massive desalination plant. If it works, it coul...
Secrets of the Dead: The Nero Files
2019
as Narrator (voice)
The Roman emperor Nero is considered one of history's greatest criminals - a cruel, insane, and brutal ruler. Secrets of the Dead: The Nero Files inve...

The Violin Alone
2019
as Narrator (voice)
A chance encounter between two modern visionaries results in a collaboration that pushes the boundaries of music and our idea of the possible –a piece...

Broken Places
2018
as Narrator (voice)
An exploration into why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. By revisiting childhood trauma victims ...

NOVA: Prediction by the Numbers
2018
as Narrator (voice)
Predictions underlie nearly every aspect of our lives, from sports, politics, and medical decisions to the morning commute. With the explosion of digi...

NOVA: First Face of America
2018
as Narrator (voice)
During risky expeditions in an underwater cave in Mexico, scientists unearth the skeleton of a 13,000-year-old prehistoric teenager to gain insight in...
Vice
2018
as Governor
When a state governor is unexpectedly tapped for the Vice-Presidency he finds the vetting process a brutal introduction to national politics.

Ghosts of Stonehenge
2017
as Narrator (voice)
Who built Stonehenge and why? Groundbreaking archaeological digs have revealed major new clues about Britain's enigmatic 5,000-year-old site and the p...

NOVA: Holocaust Escape Tunnel
2017
as Narrator (voice)

The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family, Play Three: Women of a Certain Age
2017
as George Gabriel
Eight months after we first meet the Gabriels, Patricia, the family matriarch, joins her children and daughters-in-law as they prepare a meal from the...

The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family, Play Two: What Did You Expect?
2017
as George Gabriel
Back in the kitchen of the Gabriel family, the country is now in the midst of the general election for President. In the course of one evening in the ...

The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family, Play One: Hungry
2017
as George Gabriel
Hungry is the first in a three-play cycle introducing us to the Gabriels of Rhinebeck, New York. These three plays unfold in real time and track the l...

NOVA: Why Trains Crash
2017
as Narrator (voice)
A look at several recent train crashes, their causes and a technological solution which should make such events occur much less often.

NOVA: Secrets of the Sky Tombs
2017
as Narrator (voice)
A team of scientists and explorers probe high altitude caves in the Tibetan Himalayas.

Secrets of the Dead: Graveyard of the Giant Beasts
2016
as Narrator (voice)
A mining operation in Cerrejon, Northern Colombia revealed a treasure trove of fossils from animals that lived ten million years after the KT extincti...

Catfight
2016
as Angry Guy
The rivalry between two former college friends comes to a head when they both attend the same glamorous event.

NOVA: Iceman Reborn
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Murdered more than 5,000 years ago, Otzi the Iceman is the oldest human mummy on Earth. Now, newly discovered evidence sheds light not only on this my...

NOVA: Mystery Beneath the Ice
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Scientists venture onto the ice to find out why krill, creatures crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem, are disappearing at an alarming rate.

NOVA: Life's Rocky Start
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Four and a half billion years ago, the young Earth was a hellish place-a seething chaos of meteorite impacts, volcanoes belching noxious gases, and li...

NOVA: Secret Tunnel Warfare
2016
as Narrator (voice)
In the thick of World War I, Allied forces attempt the daring feat of planting over a million pounds of explosives beneath enemy lines.

Inside Einstein's Mind: The Enigma of Space and Time
2015
as Narrator (voice)
In November 1915, Einstein published his greatest work: General Relativity, the theory that transformed our understanding of nature's laws and the ent...

Secrets of the Dead: The Real Trojan Horse
2015
as Narrator (voice)
The Trojan Horse… It was the ultimate sneak attack, bringing a city that would withstood nine years of battle to its knees. But was it simply a work o...

NOVA: Secrets of Noah's Ark
2015
as Narrator (voice)
Historians, boat builders and experts examine the tale of Noah's Ark, studying ancient texts and attempting to rebuild a forerunner of the Ark itself.

Dawn of Humanity
2015
as Narrator (voice)
Nova and National Geographic present exclusive access to an astounding discovery of ancient fossil human ancestors.

NOVA: The Great Math Mystery
2015
as Narrator (voice)
NOVA leads viewers on a mathematical mystery tour -- a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's si...

Northern Borders
2015
as Agent Sanders
In 1956, ten-year-old Austen Kittredge is sent to live on his grandparents’ Vermont farm, where he experiences wild adventures and uncovers long-feste...

The Mystery of Mona Lisa
2014
as Narrator (voice)

The Gathering Swarms
2014
as Narrator (voice)
A look at some of the planet's great gatherings, creatures that come together in inconceivable numbers - sometimes in millions, billions, and even tri...

NOVA: Cold Case JFK
2013
as Narrator (voice)
The assassination of John F. Kennedy has fueled dark rumours of conspiracies and mishandled evidence. Now fifty years later, NOVA gathers investigator...

NOVA: Ground Zero Supertower
2013
as Self - Narrator (voice)
NOVA returns to Ground Zero to witness the completion of One World Trade Center.
The River
2013
as Phil
On a sweltering hot day, a very pregnant Maria, desperate for a cooling swim, encounters obstacles on her path to the river.

NOVA: Who Killed Lindbergh's Baby?
2013
as Narrator (voice)
NOVA is reopening one of the most confounding crime mysteries of all time as a team of expert investigators employs state-of-the-art forensic and beha...

Earth from Space
2012
as Narrator (voice)
Earth from Space takes you on an epic quest to discover the invisible forces and processes that sustain life on our planet and, for the first time, se...

The Man Who Saved the World
2012
as Narrator (voice)
During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Soviet Navy officer Vasily Arkhipov refused to launch a nuclear strike and saved the world from nuclear war a...

NOVA: Secrets of the Viking Sword
2012
as Narrator (voice)
The Vikings were the most ferocious warriors of the Middle Ages. Especially fearsome were the select few who wielded a formidable weapon: a light, raz...

A Novel Romance
2011
as Walter Evans
Nate Shepherd, late 40's, and Jenny Sparks, early 30's, meet in a fancy New York eatery. Complete strangers who have had a rotten day, waiting for the...
I'm Coming Over
2011
as Walter
I'm Coming Over reveals a day in the life of Matt Downing, owner and proprietor of I’m Coming Over, specializing in holistic happiness. When tradition...

Green Lantern
2011
as Carl Ferris
For centuries, a small but powerful force of warriors called the Green Lantern Corps has sworn to keep intergalactic order. Each Green Lantern wears a...
Adventures in Plymptoons!
2011
as Himself
A documentary film about Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton. This is a portrait piece that includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, c...

The Jewel
2011
as Mr. Rothman
Amanzio Rastelli appointed several of his relations to managerial positions in his firm. They decided to think internationally and now business is hea...

Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals
2010
as Self - Narrator
How did medieval engineers construct magnificent skyscrapers of glass and stone?

Edge of Darkness
2010
as Whitehouse
As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his...

Riddles of the Sphinx
2010
as Narrator (voice)
For over 4000 years, the Sphinx has puzzled all who have laid eyes on it. What is this crouching lion, human-headed creature? Who built it and why? To...

Secrets of Stonehenge
2010
as Narrator (voice)
Dated to the late Stone Age, Stonehenge may be the best-known and most mysterious relic of prehistory. Every year, a million visitors are drawn to Eng...

I Hate Valentine's Day
2009
as Tim the Delivery Guy
A love story set in Manhattan, where a florist who abides by a strict five-date-limit with any man finds herself wanting more with the new restaurateu...
The Undying
2009
as Dr. Russell Lassiter
Seduced by the ghost of a Civil War soldier, Barbara Haughton creates a love that is undying.

Revolutionary Road
2008
as Bart Pollock
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their ...

Cadillac Records
2008
as Mr. Feder
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, includ...

NOVA: Arctic Dinosaurs
2008
as Narrator (voice)
Dinosaurs are generally considered tropical animals. So what are their fossils doing north of the arctic circle? Paleontologists battle the fierce cli...

The Dissection of Thanksgiving
2008
as Cliff
Buffalo, NY. The day before Thanksgiving. Cliff and Carol Morgan take their three grown children out to dinner to tell them that, after thirty years, ...
Kill the Day
2008
as Dr. Susskind

NOVA: Judgement Day - Intelligent Design on Trial
2007
as Narrator (voice)
In this two-hour special, NOVA captures the turmoil that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania in one of the latest battles over teaching ev...

Greetings from the Shore
2007
as Commodore Callaghan
Still reeling from the death of her father, a young girl spends one last summer at the Jersey Shore before heading off to college. But when her plans ...

Happenstance
2007
as Bob
Bringing your girlfriend home to meet the parents is usually stressful enough, but what happens when someone in the room has already slept with her? B...

The Valley of Light
2007
as Howard
The Valley of Light is a beautifully-filmed, sentimental movie of a young man's quest to make sense of his experiences and find new meaning in life. W...

Wedding Daze
2006
as Sheriff
After losing the woman of his dreams, Anderson is convinced he'll never fall in love again. But at the urging of his best friend, he spontaneously pro...

Half Nelson
2006
as Russ Dunne
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majo...

The Day After Tomorrow
2004
as Frank Harris
After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age,...

Hair High
2004
as Football Announcer (voice)
Bill Plympton's gothic '50s high-school comedy about a love-triangle that goes terribly wrong. Two murdered teens return from the grave, then go to th...

Abby Singer
2003
as Kevin's Father
Chronicles the life of Curtis Clemins, who is torn between the love of his life and accomplishing his dream. When hitting rock bottom during the Sunda...

D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear
2003
as Douglas Duncan
Based on the known events that shook the United States for 23 days in 2002. Within 24 hours six people were killed by a sniper in Maryland County. A m...

Salem Witch Trials
2002
as Thomas Putnam
Salem, Massachusetts. A small town—with no clear governing body—became embroiled in a scandal that forever stands as one of the darkest chapters in Am...

Dead Dog
2001
as Frank Edmonds
Tom and Perri are the happy ideal New York couple until Tom's beloved Golden Retriever is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Tom blames Perri for the acc...

The Last Brickmaker in America
2001
as Mike Potter
A man must cope with the loss of his wife and the obsolescence of his job before finding redemption by becoming a role model to an equally lost 13-yea...

Boss of Bosses
2001
as Joseph O'Brien
The story of the rise and fall of the powerful New York City organized crime boss, Paul Castellano.

Along Came a Spider
2001
as Kyle Craig
After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the pea...

My Husband's Double Life
2001
as Patrick Hennessy Welsh
A woman discovers that her husband faked his death and assumed a new identity, while she struggled for 10 years as a single mother.

My Husband's Double Life
2001
as Timothy Michael Kingsbury
A woman discovers that her husband faked his death and assumed a new identity, while she struggled for 10 years as a single mother.

Picnic
2000
as Howard Bevens
The son of the richest man in town wants to marry the town's beauty queen, but she meets a more interesting stranger who just got off the train.

Wild Costa Rica
2000
as Narrator
Cost Rica is one of the most diverse places on Earth. This exploration features Costa Rica's unique animal inhabitants, including various monkeys, bir...

Tumbleweeds
1999
as Dan Miller
Whenever trouble strikes in one of her relationships, single mother Mary Jo Walker and her daughter, Ava, pack up and move to another city, a routine ...

Music of the Heart
1999
as Dan Paxton
Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

ATF
1999
as Sam Sinclair
In the wake of the tragic events at Waco, Texas where an armed conflict with armed militiamen broke out, agents of the federal government's Alcohol, T...

The Secret Life of Girls
1999
15-year-old Natalie, confused to begin with, finds out about her father's affair with one of his students. Refusing to simply stand by and watch her f...

The Jack Bull
1999
as Atty. Gen. Metcalfe
The Jack Bull tells the story of Myrl Redding, a Wyoming horse trader who clashes with Henry Ballard, a fellow rancher, after Ballard abuses two of My...

The Confession
1999
as Jack Renoble
After his young son dies from the negligence at a hospital, Harry Fertig takes matters into his own hands and kills the doctor, nurse and clerk respon...

Earthly Possessions
1999
as Zack Emery
A bored homemaker planning to run away from her minister husband is taken hostage in a bank robbery. However, she sees the thrill in being involved in...

The Odd Couple II
1998
as Leroy
Brucey, the son of Oscar, calls his father to invite him to his wedding to Felix's daughter next Sunday in California. Oscar and Felix meet again at L...

Wrestling with Alligators
1998
as Rick
All that Maddy Hawkins has ever wanted was a family she could call her own. Even in 1959, the simplest things are difficult to find...Maddy, a street-...

For Richer or Poorer
1997
as Samuel Yoder
Brad Sexton and his wife, Caroline, are wealthy New Yorkers with both marital and financial problems. The latter issue becomes a pressing matter when ...

The Matchmaker
1997
as Senator John McGlory
Marcy, a worker in the reelection campaign of bumbling Senator John McGlory, is sent to Ireland on a quest to find the Irish ancestry of Sen. McGlory,...

Kiss the Girls
1997
as FBI Agent Kyle Craig
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," ...

Daylight
1996
as Steven Crighton
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosi...

The Prosecutors
1996
as DA Alan Baker
Drama (and prospective pilot) about the lives of three women who work in the New York City DA's office: one a brilliant prosecutor of high-profile cas...

Silver Strand
1995
as Lucas Hughes
The U.S. Navy selects from its ranks a small group of persons to send through unadulterated hell.

Three Wishes
1995
as Coach Schramka
While Jane Holman is driving with her two sons, she accidentally runs into a drifter, Jack McCloud, who breaks his leg. Being responsible, Jane invite...

Down Came a Blackbird
1995
as Jan Talbeck
A woman struggles with the death of her lover. He was killed by South-American fascists.

The Big Green
1995
as Jay Huffer
In a depressed Texas town, British foreign exchange teacher Anna attempts to inject some life into her hopeless kids by introducing them to soccer. Th...

Kiss of Death
1995
as Federal Agent
Jimmy Kilmartin's an ex-con who's trying to go straight. But he can't say no to a quick driving job because his so-called friend's life is threatened....

Angels in the Outfield
1994
as Ranch Wilder
Roger is a foster child whose irresponsible father promises to get his act together when Roger's favourite baseball team, the California Angels, wins ...

Nobody's Children
1994
as Joe Stevens
An American couple's battle through bureaucracy to adopt a Romanian child.

State of Emergency
1994
as Dr. Jeffrey Forrest
Medical drama about a major hospital whose emergency room regularly faces an overload of patients. One of the doctors finds it necessary to adopt an u...

Rio Shannon
1993
as John Cleary
A widow and her family face new challenges when they relocate to a run-down guest ranch in New Mexico.

My Boyfriend's Back
1993
as Sheriff McCloud
Missy McCloud is the most beautiful girl in school and Johnny Dingle has been in love with her for years. One night, Johnny is killed trying to win he...

Hostages
1992
as Terry Anderson
True account of the six men held hostage by religious extremists in Beirut during the Reagan-Bush era.

JFK
1991
as Lou Ivon
Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

Meeting Venus
1991
as Stephen Taylor
Celebrated Swedish opera star Karin Anderson is slated to appear in an internationally-telecast production of Tannhauser. Ms. Anderson balks at the no...

Defenseless
1991
as Bull Dozer
A Los Angeles lawyer defends her former college roommate, whose husband — her lover — has been slain.

V.I. Warshawski
1991
as Murray Ryerson
Victoria "V.I" Warshawski is a Chicago based private detective who agrees to babysit for her new boyfriend; then he is murdered. Being the detective t...

Mr. Destiny
1990
as Jackie Earle
Larry Burrows is unhappy and feels powerless over his life. He believes his entire life could have turned out differently had he not missed that shot ...

Revealing Evidence - Stalking the Honolulu Strangler
1990
as Tom Marshall
After months of a search for a serial killer, the police are able to catch the killer of some of the women. But the search is not over when the assist...

Glory
1989
as Gen. George Crockett Strong
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Cold Sassy Tree
1989
as Clayton McAllister
In the early 20th century, an independent lady from up North causes a scandal when she decides to wed an older local general-store owner just three we...

Just Like in the Movies
1989
as Ryan Legrand
A divorced private eye keeps in touch with his son and spies on an actress who has jilted him.

The Prince of Pennsylvania
1988
as Trooper Joe
Set in a remote Pennsylvania coal-mining town, this off-beat comedy follows the relationship between Carla, a hippie woman, and Rupert, a young punk r...

Tucker: The Man and His Dream
1988
as Kirby
Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1945. Engineer Preston Tucker dreams of designing the car of future, but his innovative envision will be repeatedly sabotaged by ...

The Misfit Brigade
1987
as Tiny
War story of the 27th Panzers, Hitler's heavy-duty combat regiment composed of prisoners.

A Doctor's Story
1984
as Dr. Curtis
A physician frustrates his family in his fight to prove that an elderly man is not senile.

Cross Creek
1983
as Charles Rawlings
In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editors and confused n...

Eddie Macon's Run
1983
as Rudy Potts
Eddie Macon is running from a nightmare... running to a dream... running for his life and his time is running out. He's escaped a Texas prison for the...

Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story
1983
as Dick Willey
TV movie based on the singer's life, under his mother's thumb, competing with the ghost of one of the most famous singers in C&W music history, and as...

Hanky Panky
1982
as Katz
Naïve Michael Jordon is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later m...

Starstruck
1981
as Mr. Miller
Aspiring teen folk singer is torn whether to continue her singing or to accept an educational scholarship.

The Day Christ Died
1980
as Peter
A dramatization of the events from the Last Supper through the arrest and trial of Jesus to the Crucifixion.

Starting Over
1979
as Larry
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.