The son of a Mayflower descendent, Sam Waterston was born in Cambridge, Mass., on Nov. 15, 1940, attending Yale University, the Sorbonne and the American Actors Workshop before taking on television and movie roles.His big break came with a 1973 television adaptation of Tennessee Williams's "The Glass Menagerie" and the film version of The Great Gatsby (1974) with Mia Farrow. That pairing led to a subsequent string of Woody Allen films -- Interiors (1978), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) -- and an Oscar nomination for The Killing Fields (1984).
Despite his impressive film résumé, Waterston is perhaps best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayal of District Attorney Jack McCoy on the long-running detective drama "Law & Order." He continues to perform in both live theater and film, donning a beard more than once to play Abraham Lincoln.
The Man in the MoonSet in 1950s Louisiana, this coming-of-age drama follows a 14-year-old tomboy as she tries to cope with her budding sensuality and a rivalry with her older sister. Trouble begins to brew when the siblings both fall for their dreamy new neighbor. Read More
The Killing FieldsSam Waterston portrays Sydney Schanberg, the New York Times journalist who won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the civil war in Cambodia. Aided by his translator, Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), Schanberg shines a light on the tragedy and madness of the bloody conflict. This harrowing drama based... Read More
The Glass MenagerieKatharine Hepburn makes her television dramatic debut as overbearing matriarch Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams's poignant play. Amanda's unrealistic dreams for her children's futures threaten to smother her painfully shy daughter (Joanna Miles) and her aspiring writer son (Sam Waterston).... Read More
Swimming to CambodiaDirector Jonathan Demme captures monologuist Spalding Gray spinning his brilliant conversational web in this one-man reminiscence (based on his hit Broadway show) about his small role in the 1984 movie The Killing Fields. Gray muses on the abundance of drugs and sex in Southeast Asia, as well as... Read More
Law & OrderLaw & Order is the police procedural/legal drama that started it all -- including the spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and a British version across the pond -- by painting an often-complicated portrait of America's criminal justice system. Over the course of its 20-season run, the series... Read More
TV-G | ||
Masters of Science Fiction (2007) | NR | |
Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005) | NR | |
Le Divorce (2003) | PG-13 | |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) | TV-14 | |
Echoes from the White House (2001) | NR | |
Miracle at Midnight (1998) | NR | |
NR | ||
Thomas Jefferson (1997) | NR | |
NR | ||
The Journey of August King (1995) | PG-13 | |
Lost Civilizations (1995) | NR | |
Serial Mom (1994) | R | |
The Enemy Within (1994) | NR | |
In the Hands of the Enemy (1994) | PG-13 | |
David's Mother (1994) | PG-13 | |
The Man in the Moon (1991) | PG-13 | |
Ken Burns: The Civil War (1990) | TV-PG | |
Law & Order (1990) | TV-14 | |
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) | PG-13 | |
Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1988) | NR | |
Swimming to Cambodia (1987) | NR | |
The Room Upstairs (1987) | NR | |
September (1987) | PG | |
Just Between Friends (1986) | PG-13 | |
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) | PG-13 | |
Warning Sign (1985) | R | |
The Killing Fields (1984) | R | |
Dempsey (1983) | NR | |
Hopscotch (1980) | R | |
R | ||
Oppenheimer (1980) | NR | |
Sweet William (1980) | R | |
Eagle's Wing (1979) | PG | |
Interiors (1978) | PG | |
Capricorn One (1978) | PG | |
Rancho Deluxe (1975) | R | |
The Great Gatsby (1974) | PG | |
PG | ||
Generation (1969) | NR | |
 | | |