Acting · Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA · Born November 15, 1940
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy on the NBC television series Law & Order. He has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild-, BAFTA- and Emmy Awards, having starred in over eighty film and television productions during his forty-five year career. Allmovie has characterised Waterston as having "cultivated a loyal following with his quietly charismatic, unfailingly solid performances." Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Waterston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
MovieCarousel
2026
as Sam
MovieThe Six Triple Eight
2024
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
MovieMerchant Ivory
2024
as Self
MovieRain Falls from Earth: Surviving Cambodia's Darkest Hour
2024
as Self (voice)
MovieA Case for Love
2024
as Self
TVLiv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
2023
as Self
TVThe Dropout
2022
as George Shultz
MovieKurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
2021
as Self (voice)
MovieThe Man in the Woods
2020
as Headmaster Waldorf
MovieGatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story
2020
as Self
MovieOn the Basis of Sex
2018
as Erwin Griswold
MovieThe Mayo Clinic
2018
as Charlie Mayo (voice)
MovieJane Fonda in Five Acts
2018
as Self - (archive footage)
TVGodless
2017
as Marshall John Cook
MovieMonkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators
2017
as Narrator (voice)
MovieDateline: Saigon
2017
as Narrator (voice)
MovieMiss Sloane
2016
as George Dupont
MovieAnesthesia
2016
as Prof. Walter Zarrow
TVThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
MovieAnd It Was Good
2015
as Judge Alexander Baas / Doctor / Gravedigger
TVGrace and Frankie
2015
as Sol Bergstein
MovieDean Smith
2015
as Narrator
MoviePlease Be Normal
2015
as Dad
TVJo
2013
TVThe Newsroom
2012
as Charlie Skinner
TVProhibition
2011
as Reader (voice)
MovieThe Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
2010
as Self
TVMasters of Science Fiction
2007
MovieThe Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as John Honeyman (segment "A Walk in the Woods")
TVThe Colbert Report
2005
TVLaw & Order: Trial by Jury
2005
as Jack McCoy
MovieHammer and Cycle
2004
as Self - Narrator
MovieThe Commission
2003
as J. Lee Rankin
MovieLe Divorce
2003
as Chester Walker
MovieThe Matthew Shepard Story
2002
as Dennis Shepard
MovieA House Divided
2000
as David Dickson
MovieThe Unfinished Journey
1999
as Narrator (voice)
TVLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Jack McCoy
MovieIn Bad Taste
1999
as Self
MovieMoment of Impact: Stories of the Pulitzer Prize Photographs
1999
as Self / Host / Narrator
MovieHere Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels
1999
as Narrator
TVFamily Guy
1999
as Bruce Kaplan (voice)
MovieExiled
1998
as Jack McCoy
MovieMiracle at Midnight
1998
as Dr. Karl Koster
TVLewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
1997
as Thomas Jefferson (voice)
TVThe View
1997
as Self
TVThomas Jefferson
1997
as Thomas Jefferson (voice)
MovieShadow Conspiracy
1997
as The President
MovieThe Proprietor
1996
as Harry Bancroft
MovieNixon
1995
as Richard Helms
MovieThe Journey of August King
1995
as Mooney Wright
MovieAmazing Stories: The Movie IV
1995
as Jordan Manmouth (archive footage)
TVTime Life's Lost Civilizations
1995
as Narrator
MovieTennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage
1994
as Tom Wingfield (archive footage)
MovieThe Enemy Within
1994
as President William Foster
MovieSerial Mom
1994
as Eugene Sutphin
MovieDavid's Mother
1994
as John Nils
MovieAssault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
1994
as Daniel Chamberlain
I'll Fly Away: Then and Now
1993
as Forrest Bedford
TVHomicide: Life on the Street
1993
as Jack McCoy
MovieEarth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)
TVHBO First Look
1992
MovieMindwalk
1991
as Jack Edwards
TVI'll Fly Away
1991
as Forrest Bedford
MovieThe Man in the Moon
1991
as Matthew Trant
TVThe Civil War
1990
as Abraham Lincoln (voice)
TVLaw & Order
1990
as Jack McCoy
MovieNight of 100 Stars III
1990
as Self
MovieA Captive in the Land
1990
as Royce
TVThe Nightmare Years
1989
as Bill Shirer
MovieCrimes and Misdemeanors
1989
as Ben
MovieWelcome Home
1989
as Woody
MovieLantern Hill
1989
as Andrew Stuart
TVTales from the Crypt
1989
as G.G. Devoe (segment "As Ye Sow")
MovieTerrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami
1988
as Jim Delmore
TVLincoln
1988
as Abraham Lincoln
MovieA Walk in the Woods
1988
as John Honeyman
MovieSeptember
1987
as Peter
MovieDevil's Paradise
1987
as Jones
MovieSwimming to Cambodia
1987
as Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields' (archive footage)
MovieThe Room Upstairs
1987
as Travis Coles
MovieFlagrant désir
1986
as Inspecteur Gerry Morrison
MovieJust Between Friends
1986
as Harry Crandall
MovieThe Fifth Missile
1986
as Capt. Allard Renslow
MovieHannah and Her Sisters
1986
as David (uncredited)
TVAmazing Stories
1985
as Jordan Manmouth
MovieWarning Sign
1985
as Cal Morse
MovieLove Lives On
1985
as Bernie
MovieFinnegan Begin Again
1985
as Paul Broadbent
MovieThe Killing Fields
1984
as Sydney Schanberg
MovieThe Boy Who Loved Trolls
1984
as Ofoeti
TVJeopardy!
1984
as Self
MovieDempsey
1983
as Doc Kearns
MovieIn Defense of Kids
1983
as Paul Wilcox
MovieGames Mother Never Taught You
1982
as David Bentells
TVQ.E.D.
1982
as Professor Quentin Everett Deverill
TVAmerican Playhouse
1982
as Robert Oppenheimer
MovieHeaven's Gate
1980
as Frank Canton
MovieFriendly Fire
1980
as C.D.B. Bryan
TVOppenheimer
1980
as Robert Oppenheimer
MovieHopscotch
1980
as Jack Cutter
MovieSweet William
1980
as William McClusky
MovieEagle's Wing
1979
as White Bull
MovieInteriors
1978
as Mike
MovieCapricorn One
1977
as Lt. Col. Peter Willis
MovieSweet Revenge
1976
as Le Clerq
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self (uncredited)
MovieJourney into Fear
1975
as Mr. Graham
MovieRancho Deluxe
1975
as Cecil Colson
TVPeople's Choice Awards
1975
as Self - Presenter
MovieReflections of Murder
1974
as Michael Elliott
MovieThe Great Gatsby
1974
as Nick Carraway
MovieThe Glass Menagerie
1973
as Tom Wingfield
MovieMuch Ado About Nothing
1973
as Benedick
MovieMahoney's Last Stand
1972
as Felix
MovieSavages
1972
as James, the Limping Man
MovieWho Killed Mary Whats'ername?
1971
as Alex Monte
Film '72
1971
as Self
MovieCover Me Babe
1970
as Cameraman
MovieThree
1969
as Taylor
MovieGeneration
1969
as Desmond
MovieFitzwilly
1967
as Oliver
MovieThe Plastic Dome of Norma Jean
1966
as Andy
TVDr. Kildare
1961
as Mark
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Travis Coles
Serial Mom: Surreal Moments
as Self
