Critics sing James Spader’s praises endlessly for his performance in NBC spy drama The Blacklist.

The Primetime Emmy winning star got his start in the 1981 film Endless Love as Keith, brother to Jade (played by Brooke Shields).

His breakout role came five years later when he co-starred as Steff, an arrogant and wealthy Lothario in coming of age classic Pretty In Pink.

The son of teachers, Spader dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade to pursue his acting career and until he was discovered, worked in a series of odd jobs including yoga instructor and stable boy.

He has appeared in such memorable films as Sex, Lies and Videotape, Less than Zero, Wolf, Secretary.

But for fans of The Practice and Boston Legal, no one Spader has portrayed may be as memorable as Alan Shore — a role that originated on Practice, continued on the spinoff and helped earn Spader 3 Emmy awards.