James Wilder (born August 5, 1968) is an American film and television actor. He's best known for his roles as Adam Louder on the Fox soap opera Models Inc., Christopher Searls on the ABC TV drama Equal Justice, and Nick Lewis on NBC's 1993 remake of Route 66.
At the age of 14, he was living in his mother's native Paris, regaling audiences with his one man show at such legendary venues as the Moulin Rouge and Lido and later on Broadway. While there, he performed with the Nouveau Cirque De Paris, the precursor to Cirque du Soleil, before making his way to LA where he lived for several years in his customized van.
It wasn't long before he nabbed a role in the Broadway hit "Sugar Babies" while studying at the famed NY Actors Studio, at which he was later inducted as a member. Upon returning to LA, TV and film roles rolled in. Some were great, highlighting his scope, others not so much. From his breakout role as the troubled addict son of Ed Asner in the ABC Circle Theater presentation Cracked Up to his heralded star turn in the Emmy-award winning legal drama Equal Justice (with Sarah Jessica Parker) and evocative characterization of a drug-dealing seducer on Melrose Place.
In 1997, he dated actress Kirstie Alley. The two met on the set of Nevada and soon were engaged, but split after four years.