Sam Waterston

An award-winning theater actor since the early 1970s, Sam Waterston became the soul of honesty, compassion and dedication through his portrayals of Abraham Lincoln in "Gore Vidal’s Lincoln" (NBC, 1988) and his 16-year tenure as District Attorney Jack McCoy on "Law and Order" (NBC, 1990-2010). Blessed with a speaking voice that seemed imbued with these same qualities, he found his best showcases in earnest roles that required him to grapple with major issues, like Nick Carraway in "The Great Gatsby" (1974), physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer" (PBS, 1980), and journalist Sydney Schanberg in "The Killing Fields" (1984), which earned him an Oscar nomination. Television gave him his most memorable roles – in addition to Lincoln in the Vidal play and in "The Civil War" (PBS, 1990), he was the beloved father and lawyer in "I’ll Fly Away" (NBC, 1991-93) and the prickly yet passionate McCoy on "Law and Order" and its many spin-offs. Admired for over four decades by critics, audiences and peers alike, Waterston was a star that eschewed the trappings of fame for the beauty of a great role.

One of four children by Scottish semanticist and language teacher George Chychele Waterson and his wife, landscape painter Alice Atkinson, Samuel Atkinson Waterston was born Nov. 15, 1940 in Cambridge, MA. He began acting in school productions and in amateur plays directed by his father, who first cast him at the age of seven in "Antigone." He continued his interest in performing at the exclusive Groton School in Groton, MA, and at the Brooks School in Andover, where his father was employed. He attended Yale on a scholarship in 1958, and while his initial interest was French, he was soon lured back to the stage. During a production of "Waiting for Godot" with the university’s dramatic society, the Yale Dramat, he came to the realization that he wanted to be a professional actor.

However, he experienced some resistance to the decision before giving himself wholeheartedly to his craft. While studying abroad at the University of Paris during his junior year, he actually thought of abandoning acting, but after a few weeks, was studying with director John Berry at the American Actors Workshop. He graduated from Yale in 1962 and lit out for Connecticut to join the Clinton Playhouse for summer stock. He then relocated to New York City, where he made his stage debut in 1962 with Arthur Kopit’s "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad." He later appeared in the show’s national tour before appearing in its Broadway run. Waterston was soon a staple of the New York theater scene, earning critical praise for modern drama like "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" and Kopit’s "Indians," as well as classic fare like a revival of Noel Coward’s "Hay Fever." His defining work during this period came in Shakespearean fare, most notably with a turn as Benedick in a 1972 production of "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park; for his work, he went on to earn an Obie, a Drama Desk Award and a New York Drama Critics Circle Award.

His film career began in 1965 with "The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean," a quirky drama about a young woman whose psychic abilities are exploited by a rock star. More supporting roles on episodic television and arthouse-minded fare like the Merchant-Ivory production "Savages" (1972) preceded a string of appearances that put him on the map as a screen actor; he reprised Benedick for a 1973 TV staging of "Much Ado" (CBS), then earned an Emmy Award nomination as Tom Wingfield opposite Katherine Hepburn in "The Glass Menagerie" (ABC, 1973). As narrator Nick Carraway, Waterston was one of the few actors to survive Jack Clayton’s film version of "The Great Gatsby" unscathed – even landing a Golden Globe nomination – and soon settled into a regular schedule of appearances in well-intentioned if not entirely successful films like "Rancho Deluxe" (1975), as the ne’er-do-well Native American pan of Jeff Bridges’ professional loafer, and "Capricorn One" (1978) as an astronaut at the center of a massive NASA cover-up. Waterston’s appearance as Mary Beth Hurt’s filmmaker boyfriend in Woody Allen’s drama "Interiors" (1978) marked his first collaboration with the director, who would later cast him in a bit role as the man Dianne Wiest loses due to her competitive streak in "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), and as Peter, a writer who falls for the married Wiest in "September" (1987). In 1989, Waterston appeared in Allen’s critically acclaimed "Crimes and Misdemeanors" as a rabbi who maintains his faith despite losing his eyesight before his daughter’s wedding.

Leading roles were rare, but Waterston manfully handled the challenge of playing Manhattan Project creator J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer" (PBS, 1980), as well as a starring role as a turn of the century crime fighter in the short-lived "Q.E.D" (CBS, 1982). His performance as the haunted Oppenheimer earned him BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. However, 1984’s "The Killing Fields" proved to be his most significant film role to date. As New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg, who discovers the truth behind the brutal Year One regime and genocide in Cambodia, Waterston embodied the horror felt by the world at large, as well as the internal struggle to accept praise for his coverage while his interpreter, Dith Pran (Dr. Haing S. Ngor) remained behind. Waterston received nominations from nearly every major critical and award society, including the Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nods. His performance also solidified Waterston’s screen persona as a deeply moral and trustworthy individual, which would carry with him throughout his career.

In 1988, Waterston landed one of his trademark roles as Abraham Lincoln in "Gore Vidal’s Lincoln" (NBC, 1988), an in-depth portrait of the man and his extraordinary times. Waterston’s physical resemblance to Lincoln, as well as the gravity and sincerity he brought to the role, helped to make his one of the best-regarded portrayals by movie and history buffs alike. He would go on to portray Lincoln on several other occasions, including in the acclaimed documentary "The Civil War" (PBS, 1990) and in a 1993 revival of "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" on Broadway. Waterston signed on for his first weekly series in 1991 with "I’ll Fly Away" (NBC, 1991-93), a gentle family drama hinged on the relationship between the family of an upstanding Southern lawyer (Waterston) and his housekeeper, played by Regina King. Though challenged in the ratings – its abrupt cancellation dismayed many viewers, who demanded a proper conclusion to the show with a 1993 TV movie on PBS – it was lavished with critical praise, including a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Waterston. The following year, Waterston began his 16-year tenure as Jack McCoy on the "Law and Order" franchise.

Unlike his predecessor Michael Moriarty, Waterston’s McCoy was a tough, combative, even law-breaking prosecutor who butted heads with his staff and other legal figures in his pursuit of justice. The product of a rough upbringing, he rose to the top of his profession through sheer force of willpower, quickly establishing the persona of "Hang ‘Em High McCoy" for his persistence in seeing those who would use the legal system to their own end receive their punishment. As McCoy, Waterston reaped the biggest audience of his career, as well as a record for most consecutive appearances by a character on a weekly series (333 from 1994 to 2009). He was nominated numerous times for Emmys and Golden Globes, and claimed a Screen Actors Guild Award in 1999 for his performance. At the time of the landmark show’s final episode, it was undetermined as to whether McCoy would continue on other spin-off series.

While working on "Law and Order," Waterston maintained a fairly busy schedule in films and TV movies, including an amusing change of pace as a suburban dentist blithely unaware that his wife is a killer in John Waters’ "Serial Mom" (1994). He made his debut as producer in the historical drama "The Journey of August King" (1995), and won a Gemini Award for his portrayal of Dennis Shepard, father of murdered gay teen Matthew Shepard in "The Matthew Shepard Story" (NBC, 2002). His earlier voiceover work for "The Civil War" in turn led to more jobs as narrator, most notably as Thomas Jefferson on Ken Burns’ 1997 PBS documentary on the third President, as well as several long-running advertisements for "The Nation" and TD Ameritrade. Waterston amiably spoofed his status as America’s most trusted narrator and pitchman in a memorable faux commercial for insurance against robot attacks on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), and in a recurring bit on "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central, 2005- ), in which he uttered total falsehoods which sounded true due to his convincing delivery. Waterston twice reunited with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, first for the little-seen "The Proprietor" (1998) and later for "Le divorce" (2003), the latter of which reunited him with his "Matthew Shepard" co-star, Stockard Channing, to play the parents of star Kate Hudson. In yet another amusing out-of-character performance, he voiced Dr. Kaplan, psychiatrist to Brian the Dog, on two episodes of "Family Guy" (Fox, 1999- ).

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Proprietor (1996)

The Journey of August King (1995)

The Man in the Moon (1991)

Crimes And Misdemeanors (1989)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

The Great Gatsby (1974)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Journey of August King (1995)

Producer

Life Events

1947

Made stage debut at age six as the Page in Jean Anouilh's "Antigone"; directed by his father

1963

First appearance with the New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) in "As You Like It"

1963

Made Broadway debut in Arthur Kopit's "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad"

1964

First appeared on television in "Camera Three" (CBS)

1965

Made film debut in the unreleased feature "The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean"

1967

First released feature, "Fitzwilly"

1968

Cast as Prince Hal in the NYSF productions of "Henry IV, Part I" and "Henry IV, Part II"

1969

Starred in Kopit's play "Indians"

1971

Had featured role in the off-Broadway play "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine"

1972

Starred opposite Kathleen Widdoes in NYSF Central Park production of "Much Ado About Nothing"; later moved to Broadway (aired on CBS in 1974)

1973

Made first TV-movie; played Tom in an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" (ABC), starring Katharine Hepburn; garnered first Emmy nomination

1974

Co-starred with Tuesday Weld in the TV-movie "Reflections on a Murder"

1974

First came to attention in a major film "The Great Gatsby"; played the narrator Nick Carraway; initial film collaboration with Mia Farrow

1975

Landed title role in the NYSF production of "Hamlet"

1976

Acted in the features "Journey Into Fear" and "Dandy, the All American Girl"

1978

Made first appearance in a Woody Allen film with a role in "Interiors"

1979

Played title role in the feature "Sweet William"

1979

Returned to TV-movies after five years to star opposite Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in the acclaimed ABC drama "Friendly Fire"

1980

Co-starred in the Broadway comedy "Lunch Hour"

1980

Featured in "Hopscotch" and Michael Cimino's disastrous "Heaven's Gate"

1982

Played physicist Quentin E. Deverill on the short-lived CBS adventure series "Q.E.D."

1982

Played physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the seven-part PBS miniseries "Oppenheimer"

1984

Received Best Actor Oscar nomination for his leading role as an American journalist in Cambodia in the feature film "The Killing Fields"

1985

Acted on Broadway in "Benefactors" alongside Glenn Close and Mary Beth Hurt

1985

Co-starred with Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Preston in the HBO romance "Finnegan Begin Again"

1986

Appeared in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters"

1987

Re-teamed with Allen for the film "September"

1988

Played Abraham Lincoln in the two-part NBC movie "Gore Vidal's Lincoln"; Mary Tyler Moore co-starred as Mary Todd Lincoln

1988

Starred with Robert Prosky in "A Walk in the Woods," a play dealing with arms negotiation between the U.S. and the USSR

1989

Fourth film with Allen, "Crimes and Misdemeanors"

1991

Co-starred in the period drama "The Man in the Moon," starring a young Reese Witherspoon

1991

Starred on the NBC drama series "I'll Fly Away"; received Emmy nominations in 1992 and 1993

1992

Made TV directorial debut with the "Since Walter" episode of "I'll Fly Away" (NBC)

1993

Returned to the NYC stage to play Abraham Lincoln in a revival of Robert Sherwood's "Abe Lincoln in Illinois"; received a Tony nomination

1994

Co-starred with Kirstie Alley in the acclaimed TV-movie "David's Mother" (CBS)

1994

Joined the cast of the NBC drama series "Law & Order" as assistant district attorney Jack McCoy, replacing Michael Moriarty; in 2007, his character was promoted to New York district attorney, filling the slot vacated by Fred Thompson's Arthur Branch; earned Emmy (1997, 1999, 2000) nominations; series cancelled after 20 years on the air