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 notable films, including Glory (1989), Mr. Destiny (1990), JFK (1991), Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Big Green (1995), Daylight (1996), The Matchmaker (1997), For Richer or Poorer (1997), Tumbleweeds (1999), Music of the Heart (1999), Half Nelson (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), and Revolutionary Road (2008).
He is also known as the narrator for the PBS series Wide Angle from 2002–2009 and has served as narrator for a number of Nova episodes and documentary specials starting in 2007.
He is the voice of D.S. McKenna in the Red Dead Redemption video game series.
Known For
The Day After Tomorrow
(2004)
Frank Harris
Green Lantern
(2011)
Carl Ferris
Edge of Darkness
(2010)
Whitehouse
Glory
(1989)
Gen. George Crockett Strong
JFK
(1991)
Lou Ivon
Kiss the Girls
(1997)
FBI Agent Kyle Craig
Daylight
(1996)
Steven Crighton
Along Came a Spider
(2001)
Kyle Craig
Revolutionary Road
(2008)
Bart Pollock
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
(1988)
Kirby
The Assistant
(2020)
Boss (voice)
Angels in the Outfield
(1994)
Ranch Wilder
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
Ambassador Jones
Wedding Daze
(2006)
Sheriff
For Richer or Poorer
(1997)
Samuel Yoder
Cadillac Records
(2008)
Mr. Feder
Full Filmography
Acting
Starting Over
(1979)
Larry
The Day Christ Died
(1980)
Peter
Starstruck
(1981)
Mr. Miller
Hanky Panky
(1982)
Katz
Cross Creek
(1983)
Charles Rawlings
Eddie Macon's Run
(1983)
Rudy Potts
Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story
(1983)
Dick Willey
A Doctor's Story
(1984)
Dr. Curtis
The Misfit Brigade
(1987)
Tiny
The Prince of Pennsylvania
(1988)
Trooper Joe
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
(1988)
Kirby
Just Like in the Movies
(1989)
Ryan Legrand
Glory
(1989)
Gen. George Crockett Strong
Cold Sassy Tree
(1989)
Clayton McAllister
Revealing Evidence - Stalking the Honolulu Strangler
(1990)
Tom Marshall
Mr. Destiny
(1990)
Jackie Earle
V.I. Warshawski
(1991)
Murray Ryerson
Defenseless
(1991)
Bull Dozer
Meeting Venus
(1991)
JFK
(1991)
Lou Ivon
Hostages
(1992)
Terry Anderson
Rio Shannon
(1993)
John Cleary
My Boyfriend's Back
(1993)
Sheriff McCloud
Angels in the Outfield
(1994)
Ranch Wilder
Nobody's Children
(1994)
Joe Stevens
State of Emergency
(1994)
Dr. Jeffrey Forrest
Kiss of Death
(1995)
Federal Agent
Down Came a Blackbird
(1995)
Jan Talbeck
The Big Green
(1995)
Jay Huffer
Three Wishes
(1995)
Coach Schramka
Silver Strand
(1995)
Lucas Hughes
Daylight
(1996)
Steven Crighton
The Prosecutors
(1996)
DA Alan Baker
Kiss the Girls
(1997)
FBI Agent Kyle Craig
The Matchmaker
(1997)
Senator John McGlory
For Richer or Poorer
(1997)
Samuel Yoder
Wrestling with Alligators
(1998)
Rick
The Odd Couple II
(1998)
Leroy
Music of the Heart
(1999)
Dan Paxton
The Confession
(1999)
Jack Renoble
Earthly Possessions
(1999)
Zack Emery
The Secret Life of Girls
(1999)
Tumbleweeds
(1999)
Dan Miller
The Jack Bull
(1999)
Atty. Gen. Metcalfe
ATF
(1999)
Sam Sinclair
Picnic
(2000)
Howard Bevens
Dead Dog
(2001)
Frank Edmonds
The Last Brickmaker in America
(2001)
Mike Potter
My Husband's Double Life
(2001)
Patrick Hennessy Welsh
Along Came a Spider
(2001)
Kyle Craig
Boss of Bosses
(2001)
Joseph O'Brien
Salem Witch Trials
(2002)
Thomas Putnam
Abby Singer
(2003)
Kevin's Father
D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear
(2003)
Douglas Duncan
Hair High
(2004)
Football Announcer (voice)
The Day After Tomorrow
(2004)
Frank Harris
Wedding Daze
(2006)
Sheriff
Half Nelson
(2006)
Russ Dunne
The Valley of Light
(2007)
Howard
Happenstance
(2007)
Bob
NOVA: Judgement Day - Intelligent Design on Trial
(2007)
Narrator (voice)
Revolutionary Road
(2008)
Bart Pollock
NOVA: Arctic Dinosaurs
(2008)
Narrator (voice)
Greetings from the Shore
(2008)
Commodore Callaghan
The Dissection of Thanksgiving
(2008)
Cliff
Cadillac Records
(2008)
Mr. Feder
I Hate Valentine's Day
(2009)
Tim the Delivery Guy
The Undying
(2009)
Dr. Russell Lassiter
Riddles of the Sphinx
(2010)
Narrator (voice)
Secrets of Stonehenge
(2010)
Narrator (voice)
Edge of Darkness
(2010)
Whitehouse
Green Lantern
(2011)
Carl Ferris
The Jewel
(2011)
Mr. Rothman
I'm Coming Over
(2011)
Walter
A Novel Romance
(2011)
Walter Evans
Adventures in Plymptoons!
(2011)
Himself
The Man Who Saved the World
(2012)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Secrets of the Viking Sword
(2012)
Narrator (voice)
Earth from Space
(2012)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Cold Case JFK
(2013)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Ground Zero Supertower
(2013)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Who Killed Lindbergh's Baby?
(2013)
Narrator (voice)
The River
(2013)
Phil
The Mystery of Mona Lisa
(2014)
Narrator (voice)
Sorry
(2014)
Richard Apple
The Gathering Swarms
(2014)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: The Great Math Mystery
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Dawn of Humanity
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Inside Einstein's Mind: The Enigma of Space and Time
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Secrets of Noah's Ark
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Northern Borders
(2015)
Agent Sanders
Secrets of the Dead: The Real Trojan Horse
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Life's Rocky Start
(2016)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Mystery Beneath the Ice
(2016)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Iceman Reborn
(2016)
Narrator (voice)
Secrets of the Dead: Graveyard of the Giant Beasts
(2016)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Secret Tunnel Warfare
(2016)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Secrets of the Sky Tombs
(2017)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Why Trains Crash
(2017)
Narrator (voice)
What Did You Expect?
(2017)
George Gabriel
Hungry
(2017)
George Gabriel
Women of a Certain Age
(2017)
George Gabriel
NOVA: Holocaust Escape Tunnel
(2017)
Narrator (voice)
Ghosts of Stonehenge
(2017)
Narrator (voice)
Leonardo: The Man Who Saved Science
(2017)
Narrator (voice)
Catfight
(2017)
Angry Guy
Broken Places
(2018)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: Prediction by the Numbers
(2018)
Narrator (voice)
NOVA: First Face of America
(2018)
Narrator (voice)
Vice
(2018)
Governor
The Violin Alone
(2019)
Narrator (voice)
Secrets of the Dead: The Nero Files
(2019)
Narrator (voice)
Uncle Vanya
(2019)
Vanya
DC Noir
(2019)
Sgt. Peters
NOVA: Decoding da Vinci
(2019)
Narrator (voice)
Incidental Moments of the Day
(2020)
Richard Apple
And So We Come Forth
(2020)
Richard Apple
Tapes
(2020)
What Do We Need to Talk About?
(2020)
Richard Apple
Regular Singing
(2020)
Richard Apple
The Assistant
(2020)
Boss (voice)
That Hopey Changey Thing
(2020)
Richard Apple
Sweet and Sad
(2020)
Richard Apple
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
Ambassador Jones
The Road to Galena
(2022)
John Baird
When You Finish Saving the World
(2023)
Roger
Outrage
(2023)
Frank Brand
His Three Daughters
(2023)
Vincent
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
(2024)
Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee