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NBC Fall Line Up 2013: James Spader Speaks New Show, 'Blacklist, '' Avengers Age of Ultron'

The NBC 2013 fall line up is almost here. One of the most anticipated new series is the crime drama, The Blacklist. James Spader returns to television in the villainous lead role. Speaking of villains, Joss Whedon talks about casting Spader as the main antagonist in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.

James Spader is a tried and true TV and film veteran. Throughout his long career, one thing really stands out about him--he's creepy..real creepy, but creepy can pay off. Case in point, Spader is about to star in two villainous roles on both the small and large screen.

Spader, who stared alongside William Shatner in the legal drama, The Practice, and it's spin-off, Boston Legal, won Emmy awards for his performance on both series. He also briefly took over NBC's The Office, when he played the eccentric yet strangely charming Robert California.

Now Spader is making his return to TV in NBC's upcoming new series The Blacklist. In the show, Spader plays Raymond "Red" Reddington, a Hannibal Lecter-like criminal master mind, working alongside an FBI officer. In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Spader spoke about the character:

"He amused me. He has such a strange and enigmatic life, and I liked the fact that the show could surprise you and be sort of thrilling, and yet, at the same time, have a sense of humor and irreverence...Sometimes good people do terribly bad things. And sometimes bad people do terribly good things. And he's both of those. He's both of those at different times."

While we're on the subject of villains, Spader has also been cast as the big bad in Joss Whedon's 2015 Avengers: The Age of Ultron. In an interview for Marvel's The Watcher, Whedon praised the actor:

"Spader was my first and only choice. He’s got that hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compelling, but he’s also very human and humorous."

You can catch Spader in The Blacklist on NBC, Mon, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. ET.

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