Jay Olcutt Sanders is an American character actor. He was born in Austin, Texas, to Phyllis Rae (née Aden) and James Olcutt Sanders. He is noted for playing Mob lawyer Steven Kordo in the 1986–88 NBC detective series Crime Story. He is also known as the narrator for the PBS series Wide Angle from 2002–2009 and has served as narrator for many Nova episodes starting in 2007. He is known for his work on The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Kiss the Girls (1997) and Revolutionary Road (2008). He married Maryann Plunkett on October 1, 1991, and they have one child.
Known For
Credits
Cast Credits
Manhunt (2017)
Starring as Watson Bryant
(6 episodes)
- Episode 2x08: Join or Die (Feb 3, 2020)
- Episode 2x07: Eric (Feb 3, 2020)
- Episode 2x05: Land of the Noonday Sun (Feb 3, 2020)
- Episode 2x04: Run Rudolph Run (Feb 3, 2020)
- Episode 2x03: Bombingham (Feb 3, 2020)
- Episode 2x02: Unabubba (Feb 3, 2020)
Blindspot (2015)
Guest starring as Bill Weller
(10 episodes)
- Episode 5x05: Head Games (Jun 11, 2020)
- Episode 1x22: If Love a Rebel, Death Will Render (May 16, 2016)
- Episode 1x19: In the Comet of Us (Apr 25, 2016)
- Episode 1x18: One Begets Technique (Apr 18, 2016)
- Episode 1x17: Mans Telepathic Loyal Lookouts (Apr 11, 2016)
- Episode 1x16: Any Wounded Thief (Apr 4, 2016)
- Episode 1x12: Scientists Hollow Fortune (Mar 7, 2016)
- Episode 1x08: Persecute Envoys (Nov 9, 2015)
- Episode 1x06: Cede Your Soul (Oct 26, 2015)
- Episode 1x05: Split the Law (Oct 19, 2015)
Sneaky Pete (2015)
Guest starring as Sam
(15 episodes)
- Episode 3x01: The Double Up & Back (May 10, 2019)
- Episode 2x10: Switch (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x09: Buffalo Soldiers (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x08: Marius Josipovic (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x07: The Reluctant Taxidermist (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x05: The Tower (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x04: Maggie (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x03: Man on the Run (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x02: Inside Out (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 2x01: The Sinister Hotel Room Mystery (Mar 9, 2018)
- Episode 1x10: The Longest Day (Jan 12, 2017)
- Episode 1x07: Lieutenant Bernhardt (Jan 12, 2017)
- Episode 1x06: Coyote Is Always Hungry (Jan 12, 2017)
- Episode 1x05: Sam (Jan 12, 2017)
- Episode 1x02: Safe (Jan 12, 2017)
American Odyssey (2015)
Guest starring as Alex
(8 episodes)
- Episode 1x13: Real World (Jun 28, 2015)
- Episode 1x11: Gingerbread (Jun 14, 2015)
- Episode 1x09: Figmo (May 31, 2015)
- Episode 1x08: Kmag Yoyo (May 24, 2015)
- Episode 1x06: Wingman (May 10, 2015)
- Episode 1x04: Tango Uniform (Apr 26, 2015)
- Episode 1x02: Oscar Mike (Apr 12, 2015)
- Episode 1x01: Gone Elvis (Apr 5, 2015)
True Detective (2014)
Guest starring as Rev. Billy Lee Tuttle
(2 episodes)
- Episode 1x06: Haunted Houses (Feb 23, 2014)
- Episode 1x01: The Long Bright Dark (Jan 12, 2014)
Pan Am (2011)
Guest starring as Douglas Vanderway
(3 episodes)
- Episode 1x14: 1964 (Feb 19, 2012)
- Episode 1x10: Secrets and Lies (Jan 8, 2012)
- Episode 1x04: Eastern Exposure (Oct 16, 2011)
Person of Interest (2011)
Guest starring as Special Counsel
(10 episodes)
- Episode 3x16: RAM (Mar 4, 2014)
- Episode 2x22: God Mode (May 9, 2013)
- Episode 2x21: Zero Day (May 2, 2013)
- Episode 2x16: Relevance (Feb 21, 2013)
- Episode 2x15: Booked Solid (Feb 14, 2013)
- Episode 2x12: Prisoner's Dilemma (Jan 10, 2013)
- Episode 2x03: Masquerade (Oct 18, 2012)
- Episode 2x02: Bad Code (Oct 4, 2012)
- Episode 2x01: The Contingency (Sep 27, 2012)
- Episode 1x22: No Good Deed (May 10, 2012)
The Good Wife (2009)
Guest starring as Judge Hal Ferris
(2 episodes)
- Episode 7x14: Monday (Feb 14, 2016)
- Episode 3x07: Executive Order 13224 (Nov 6, 2011)
Damages (2007)
Guest starring as Calder Security Executive
- Episode 2x11: London, Of Course (Mar 18, 2009) [Co-Star]
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)
Guest starring as Captain Joseph Hannah
(8 episodes)
- Episode 10x08: To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap (Jun 26, 2011)
- Episode 10x07: Icarus (Jun 19, 2011)
- Episode 10x06: Cadaver (Jun 12, 2011)
- Episode 10x05: Trophy Wine (Jun 5, 2011)
- Episode 10x04: The Last Street in Manhattan (May 22, 2011)
- Episode 10x03: Boots on the Ground (May 15, 2011)
- Episode 10x02: The Consoler (May 8, 2011)
- Episode 10x01: Rispetto (May 1, 2011)
Secrets of the Dead (2000)
Starring as Narrator
(18 episodes)
- Episode 22x12: Lost Treasures of Angkor – King's Gold (Nov 20, 2024)
- Episode 22x11: Lost Treasures of Angkor – The Discovery (Nov 13, 2024)
- Episode 22x10: Field of Vampires (Oct 30, 2024)
- Episode 22x09: The Civil War's Lost Massacre (Oct 23, 2024)
- Episode 22x08: The Herculaneum Scrolls (Oct 16, 2024)
- Episode 22x07: Mozart's Sister (Oct 9, 2024)
- Episode 22x06: Returning to Babylon (Oct 2, 2024)
- Episode 22x05: The Princes in the Tower (Nov 22, 2023)
- Episode 22x04: Death in Britannia (Nov 1, 2023)
- Episode 22x03: Eiffel's Race to the Top (Oct 25, 2023)
- Episode 22x02: Jurassic Fortunes (Oct 18, 2023)
- Episode 22x01: The Sunken Basilica (Oct 11, 2023)
- Episode 21x05: Hidden in the Amazon (Nov 9, 2022)
- Episode 21x04: Decoding Hieroglyphics (Nov 2, 2022)
- Episode 21x03: The End of the Romans (Oct 26, 2022)
- Episode 21x02: Last Days of Pompeii (Oct 19, 2022)
- Episode 21x01: Archaeology of Althorpe (Oct 9, 2022)
- Episode 16x02: Graveyard of the Giant Beasts (Nov 2, 2016)
Guest starring as Narrator
(27 episodes)
- Episode 20x06: The Caravaggio Heist (Nov 24, 2021)
- Episode 20x05: A Samurai in the Vatican (Nov 17, 2021)
- Episode 20x04: Hindenburg's Fatal Flaws (Nov 10, 2021)
- Episode 20x03: The First Circle of Stonehenge (Nov 3, 2021)
- Episode 20x02: Lady Sapiens (Oct 27, 2021)
- Episode 20x01: Magellan's Crossing (Oct 20, 2021)
- Episode 19x06: Gangster's Gold (Nov 18, 2020)
- Episode 19x05: Abandoning The Titanic (Nov 4, 2020)
- Episode 19x04: Viking Warrior Queen (Jul 7, 2020)
- Episode 19x03: Building Notre Dame (Apr 28, 2020)
- Episode 19x02: Bombing Auschwitz (Jan 21, 2020)
- Episode 19x01: Galileo's Moon (Jul 2, 2019)
- Episode 18x05: World War Speed (Jun 25, 2019)
- Episode 18x04: Egypt's Darkest Hour (Apr 3, 2019)
- Episode 18x03: King Arthur's Lost Kingdom (Mar 27, 2019)
- Episode 18x02: The Nero Files (Feb 20, 2019)
- Episode 18x01: The Woman in the Iron Coffin (Oct 3, 2018)
- Episode 17x02: Hannibal In The Alps (Apr 10, 2018)
- Episode 17x01: Scanning the Pyramids (Jan 24, 2018)
- Episode 16x05: Leonardo: The Man Who Saved Science (Apr 5, 2017)
- Episode 16x04: Nero's Sunken City (Mar 29, 2017)
- Episode 16x03: Van Gogh's Ear (Dec 14, 2016)
- Episode 16x01: After Stonehenge (Oct 26, 2016)
- Episode 15x04: Cleopatra's Lost Tomb (May 17, 2016)
- Episode 14x01: Ben Franklin's Bones (Jan 28, 2015)
- Episode 13x04: The Lost Gardens of Babylon (May 6, 2014)
- Episode 12x05: Ultimate Tut (Jul 10, 2013)
New York Undercover (1994)
Guest starring as Howard
- Episode 1x09: The Friendly Neighborhood Dealer (Nov 10, 1994)
L.A. Law (1986)
Guest starring as Detective Michael Phillips
- Episode 4x18: Watts a Matter? (Apr 5, 1990)
Spenser: For Hire (1985)
Guest starring as Father Crawford
- Episode 1x05: Original Sin (Oct 18, 1985)
AfterMASH (1983)
Starring as Dr. Gene Pfeiffer
(10 episodes)
- Episode 1x16: Yours Truly, Max Klinger (Jan 16, 1984)
- Episode 1x15: C.Y.A. (Jan 9, 1984)
- Episode 1x14: Chief of Staff (Jan 2, 1984)
- Episode 1x13: All About Christmas Eve (Dec 19, 1983)
- Episode 1x12: Bladder Day Saints (Dec 12, 1983)
- Episode 1x11: Fallout (Dec 5, 1983)
- Episode 1x10: Thanksgiving of '53 (Nov 21, 1983)
- Episode 1x09: Sunday, Cruddy Sunday (Nov 14, 1983)
- Episode 1x08: Little Broadcast of '53 (Nov 7, 1983)
- Episode 1x07: Shall We Dance (Oct 31, 1983)
NOVA (1974)
Guest starring as Narrator
(32 episodes)
- Episode 51x14: Decoding the Universe: Quantum (Nov 6, 2024)
- Episode 51x08: Decoding the Universe: Cosmos (May 22, 2024)
- Episode 49x01: High-Risk High-Rise (Jan 5, 2022)
- Episode 47x04: Mysteries of Sleep (Feb 26, 2020)
- Episode 46x21: Decoding da Vinci (Nov 13, 2019)
- Episode 46x20: Dead Sea Scroll Detectives (Nov 6, 2019)
- Episode 46x09: First Horse Warriors (May 15, 2019)
- Episode 46x07: Saving the Dead Sea (Apr 24, 2019)
- Episode 45x17: Apollo's Daring Mission (Dec 26, 2018)
- Episode 45x14: Last B-24 (Nov 7, 2018)
- Episode 45x08: Transplanting Hope (Sep 26, 2018)
- Episode 45x06: Decoding the Weather Machine (Apr 18, 2018)
- Episode 45x05: Prediction by the Numbers (Feb 28, 2018)
- Episode 45x03: First Face of America (Feb 7, 2018)
- Episode 44x21: Ghosts of Stonehenge (Oct 11, 2017)
- Episode 44x20: Secrets of the Shining Knight (Oct 4, 2017)
- Episode 44x07: Treasures of the Earth: Power (Nov 16, 2016)
- Episode 44x06: Treasures of the Earth: Metals (Nov 9, 2016)
- Episode 44x05: Treasures of the Earth: Gems (Nov 2, 2016)
- Episode 43x16: Iceman Reborn (Feb 17, 2016)
- Episode 43x12: Mystery Beneath the Ice (Jan 20, 2016)
- Episode 43x03: Secrets of Noah's Ark (Oct 7, 2015)
- Episode 43x01: Dawn of Humanity (Sep 16, 2015)
- Episode 42x16: Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery (Feb 25, 2015)
- Episode 42x15: Petra: Lost City of Stone (Feb 18, 2015)
- Episode 42x14: Colosseum: Roman Death Trap (Feb 11, 2015)
- Episode 41x15: Great Cathedral Mystery (Feb 12, 2014)
- Episode 40x14: Ancient Computer (Apr 3, 2013)
- Episode 40x01: Secrets of the Viking Sword (Oct 10, 2012)
- Episode 39x04: Iceman Murder Mystery (Oct 26, 2011)
- Episode 38x01: Building the Great Cathedrals (Oct 19, 2010)
- Episode 35x05: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial (Nov 13, 2007)