Three-time Emmy winner James Spader joins cast of NBC's 'The Office'

James Spader, known for his acting on "Boston Legal" and "The Practice" will be joining the regular cast of NBC's "The Office" as CEO Robert California of Sabre, Dunder Mifflin's parent company.

"James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior," said Paul Lieberstein, an executive producer and a series regular. "He'll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and 'The Office' has no tools for dealing with this guy. We're thrilled he's joining our cast."

Spader has been featured in Steven Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies and Videotape", which won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival; Steven Shainberg's "Secretary," which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature; and David Croenenberg's "Crash," which won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. He has also acted on "2 Days in the Valley," "Wolf," and "Less Than Zero." Spader will be shooting Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks feature "Lincoln" later this year while shooting "The Office."

From 2004-2008, Spader won three Emmy awards for his his role as attorney Alan Shore in "The Practice" and "Boston Legal," making him the only actor to win consecutive Emmys playing the same character on two different series. He is represented at ICM and Melanie Cook.

"The Office" is a humorous documentary-style take on the foolishness that takes place in the working world based on the award-winning BBC hit. A satire on modern American office life, "The Office" tells the stories of the workers at Dunder Miffflin, a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It airs Thursdays at 9 p.m.