Multiple-award winning actor James Woods ("Casino," "Nixon") will guest star on NBC's "ER" (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET). Woods will play Dr. Nate Lennox, a patient suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) who was once a professor of Dr. Abby Lockhart's (Maura Tierney). The episode featuring Woods is scheduled to air on Thursday, February 2, 2005 at 10:00pm (ET/PT).

Woods, the son of a US Intelligence officer, completed a degree in political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Upon completion, he headed off to New York to pursue an acting career. After appearing in number of theater productions, Woods landed his first television role in "All the Way Home" and followed that with supporting roles in "The Way We Were" and "The Choirboys." However, it was Woods bold performance in "The Onion Field" that brought him serious attention.

Woods followed up with roles in "The Black Marble," "Videodrome," "Once Upon a Time in America" and scored a best actor Academy Award nomination in Oliver Stone's "Salvador." During the 1990's Woods' credits include "Casino," "Nixon" and "Ghosts of Mississippi."

Woods has further expanded his work to encompass animated productions including "Hercules" and "Stuart Little 2." His recent live-action credits include "The Virgin Suicides," "Riding in Cars with Boys," "Any Given Sunday" and in the comedy-horror spoof "Scary Movie 2."