About Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television, and film. He has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two BAFTA Awards. His acting career has spanned over five decades acting on stage and screen. Waterston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2012. Waterston studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the American Actors Workshop. He started his career in theater on the New York City stage, appearing in multiple revivals of Shakespeare. Waterston starred in numerous productions at the Public Theatre including Indians (1969), The Trial of Catonsville Nine (1970), A Doll's House (1975), Hamlet (1975), Measure for Measure (1977), and Benefactors (1980). He portrayed Abraham Lincoln on Broadway in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1993) where he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination. On film, he played Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (1974) earning a Golden Globe nomination. For his portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields (1984) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He has acted in several Woody Allen films including Interiors (1978), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), September (1987), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). He also acted in Hopscotch (1980), Heaven's Gate (1980), The Man in the Moon (1991), Serial Mom (1994), Nixon (1995), Miss Sloane (2016) and On the Basis of Sex (2018). Waterston gained prominence for his portrayal of Jack McCoy on the NBC crime series Law & Order (1994–2010, 2022–2024), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award along with Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nominations. He played Charlie Skinner in Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama series The Newsroom (2012–2014). He was BAFTA nominated for portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer in the BBC miniseries Oppenheimer (1980). He has also acted in Lincoln (1988), Godless (2017), Grace and Frankie (2015–2022), and The Dropout (2022). Waterston made his first collaboration with Woody Allen playing Mike in the drama Interiors (1978) starring Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton, and E.G. In 1994, Waterston debuted as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy in the fifth season of the NBC television series Law & Order created by Dick Wolf.
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