“I’m not sure if our offers even got to those actors”: The Blacklist Only Cast 5th Choice James Spader after 4 Other A-List Stars Including Bryan Cranston Rejected It

James Spader wasn’t the first choice for The Blacklist as four other actors, including a Breaking Bad star were considered before him.

James Spader played the role of Raymond “Red” Reddington in the hit crime-drama series The Blacklist. The series ran for ten seasons and emerged as a ratings success, becoming another glowing entry in Spader’s illustrious filmography. However, the veteran actor wasn’t the first choice for the part of the iconic fugitive turned informant.

During an interview, the show’s executive producer John Eisendrath opened up about the casting process for the role of Red and revealed that Spader wasn’t the first choice. As a result, fans must be surprised to learn that four different actors were considered for the part before the creative team eventually managed to convince Spader. Here is everything you need to know about James Spader’s casting in The Blacklist.

The Blacklist producer John Eisendrath revealed the original choices for James Spader’s role

The Blacklist follows the story of former most-wanted fugitive Raymond “Red” Reddington. The series was created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath with inspiration drawn from the real-world criminal Whitey Bulger. It ran for ten seasons with actor James Spader‘s performance as Red receiving critical acclaim.

However, in an interview with Variety, Eisendrath revealed that Spader wasn’t the first choice for the role of Red. Instead, Eisendrath stated that several popular actors were approached for the part but none of them actually came close to accepting it.

I’m not sure if our offers even got to those actors or if their agents just said, ‘Forget it.’

Eisendrath made the above statement, revealing that four actors were initially considered for the role, including 24 actor Kiefer Sutherland.

The shortlist for the role of Red also included Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, who was just coming out of his critically acclaimed run as Walter White. Veteran actor Richard Gere and former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan were also approached for the role but things did not ultimately materialize.

John Eisendrath explained why James Spader was cast days before The Blacklist started filming

After most of the actors turned down the role, the creative team was left scrambling to cast for Red with just a few days left before the pilot episode was scheduled to start filming. Eisendrath opened up about the challenges of finding a lead actor for the series in an interview with Collider.

‘A huge star is what we need to break out of the pack.’ And then, when you get past that nonsense and there’s literally only a week left before the show is supposed to start filming, you realize that you have to get back to the world of reality.

Eisendrath made the above statement, explaining that the team had to quickly shift their plans after a major star refused to accept the part.

Moreover, Eisendrath also stated that most stars were comfortable working on shorter cable television seasons compared to the longer network schedule the series would follow. As a result, it created an additional problem for the creative team. However, after Eisendrath and Bokenkamp had a conversation with Spader the duo were convinced he was right for the role and the rest is history.