Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, Texas, to Phyllis Rae (née Aden) and James Olcutt Sanders. After attending the acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase, Sanders made his off-Broadway debut in a Shakespeare in the Park production of Henry V in 1976. He played Bradley in the first New York production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child in 1978.
Sanders has had a long career in film and television. He is perhaps most recognized for his work in the films The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Green Lantern (2011) and Morgan Freeman Alex Cross films. He has appeared in many other notable films, including Glory (1989), Mr. Destiny, JFK (1991), Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Big Green (1995), Daylight, Tumbleweeds (1999), Music of the Heart (1999), Half Nelson (2006), Cadillac Records (2008) and Revolutionary Road (2008).
On television, Sanders played mob lawyer Steven Kordo in the 1986–88 NBC detective series Crime Story, Norbert "Ziggy" Walsh on two episodes of Roseanne, and recurring characters on shows such as Person of Interest and True Detective. He is the narrator for the PBS series Wide Angle from 2002 to 2009, and has served as narrator for a number of Nova episodes starting in 2007.

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