California Patriot Profile: Actor James Woods
The Real James Woods: From Hollywood Star to Truth Teller on X…
This is another installment of our California Patriots series, where I devote a column to highlight a courageous conservative leader from the Golden State. In this profile we look at the career and the impact of actor James Woods, who is a social media phenomenon on the right…
From MIT Dreams to Hollywood Reality
James Woods wasn’t supposed to be an actor. Born in small-town Vernal, Utah in 1947, he grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island with plans to become an eye surgeon. He was just one semester away from graduating MIT when he discovered something that changed everything—the theater group on campus. That spark of passion completely derailed his medical career, and honestly, we’re all better for it.
His journey to stardom wasn’t overnight. Woods cut his teeth in gritty off-Broadway productions before landing his Broadway debut in “Borstal Boy” in 1970. But it was his chilling performance as a criminal in “The Onion Field” (1979) that really put him on the map. I’ll never forget first seeing him in the Holocaust miniseries back in ‘78, playing Karl Weiss—a Jewish lawyer caught in Nazi hell. As a Jewish kid watching that, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Woods didn’t just act the part; he made you feel every ounce of that tragedy.
From there, he was unstoppable. His Oscar-nominated turn as a brash journalist in “Salvador” showed his dramatic chops, while voicing the sly Hades in Disney’s “Hercules” proved he could do anything. And who could forget his sleazy lawyer in “The Departed”? The guy’s range is just incredible.
Speaking Up When It Matters
These days, Woods has gotten pickier about his roles—and for good reason. When “Family Guy” wanted him back in 2018, he took one look at the script’s political slant and said “thanks, but no thanks.” That’s the kind of integrity you don’t see much in Hollywood anymore.
The 2025 Palisades Fire really showed what Woods is made of. While his Pacific Palisades home thankfully survived, he didn’t just sit back and stay quiet about what he saw—the waste, the mismanagement, the bureaucratic mess that made everything worse.
X Warrior with 5 Million Followers
Woods has found his true calling on the X platform, where his @realjameswoods account has become must-follow content for over 5 million people. The man averages 50,000 daily impressions, and when he posts something that really hits a nerve—just last week he had a post on the unrest in Los Angeles that racked up 100,000 likes—you know people are paying attention.
His critiques of government overspending aren’t just hot takes; they come from someone who’s watched his own neighborhood burn while officials fumbled around. When he posted about budget cuts after the Palisades Fire, 75,000 people liked it because it rang true.
More Than Just an Actor - A Poker Pro!
Here’s something most people don’t know about Woods—the guy is a serious poker player. I’ve actually seen him in action at the Commerce Club in LA, and let me tell you, he brings the same intensity to the poker table that he does to everything else. I once got the chance to thank him for his no-nonsense approach to calling out government waste. It was just a brief conversation, but you could tell this is a guy who means what he says.
Standing Alone in a Tough Crowd
Let’s be real—being a conservative voice in Hollywood takes guts. Woods is part of a pretty small club that includes folks like Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, and Clint Eastwood. These are people who’ve decided their principles matter more than playing it safe with the Hollywood crowd.
Every time Woods fires off one of his unfiltered tweets, he’s basically saying “I don’t care if this hurts my career—someone needs to say it.” In a town where everyone’s usually trying to say the right thing, Woods just says what he thinks is true. And in today’s world, that kind of honesty is pretty refreshing.