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Born in San Francisco on January 26, 1949. Is of Scottish and Hawai'ian descent. Lives in Poughkeepsie, New York with his wife, Logan, and two sons. Graduated from Williams College in Massachusettes. Shortly thereafter he joined the circus, attending Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 30, 1995, "For his act, Strathairn was one half of Siamese twins, but he had other duties as well. 'I supported the girl who went up the rope. I fed some of the animals. I set up the tent,' he recalled." When John Sayles was casting his first directorial effort, he called up his old buddy from college, David Strathairn. Apparently, Sayles was quite pleased with Strathairn's work: to date, Strathairn has appeared in eight of Sayles' films, including "Eight Men Out" and "Passion Fish". Strathairn evidently considers himself a character actor. From the same Chronicle article: "Sayles has said that Strathairn could be a big star if he were pushier, but 'David only takes as much of the scene as he should take.' Strathairn doesn't disagree, but says that being a leading man in Hollywood never has particularly interested him. 'A simple way of looking at the lead is he is the one who guides you through the story. But character actors bring a special spice to the story.'"
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