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