To a more modern audience James Spader is best known for his performance as Raymond “Red” Reddington in The Blacklist. However, Spader first rose to prominence with his film roles, alongside some of the biggest A-list stars of his generation. Nonetheless, Spader’s popularity doesn’t arguably rival some of his peers for one key reason.

James Spader in The Blacklist (Credit: NBC).

In several interviews, Spader has stressed his need for privacy, admitting that he prefers to keep his personal life away from the media. As a result, it can be argued that Spader happily paid a big price to protect his privacy, which had a direct impact on his popularity. Here is what Spader had to say about keeping his personal life private and how it may have affected his career.

The Blacklist star James Spader admitted to purposefully keeping his personal life private

James Spader is a...