--- name: "Sam Waterston" canonical: "https://film.one/person/sam-waterston" fi1m_id: "sam-waterston" imdb_id: "nm0001832" tmdb_id: 8975 wikidata_id: "Q284876" roles: ["Actor"] born: "15 November 1940" reviewed_on_fi1m: 8 average_fi1m_score: 78 average_as: "actor" average_over: 7 updated: "2026-10-07T11:27:05.631837+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sam Waterston ## Identity Sam Waterston - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sam-waterston - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** sam-waterston - **IMDb ID:** nm0001832 - **TMDB ID:** 8975 - **Wikidata ID:** Q284876 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Waterston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q284876, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001832/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8975 Actor. Born 15 November 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 15 November 1940, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA - **Active:** 1980–2017 - **Also known as:** Samuel Atkinson Waterston - **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 7 acting, 1 other - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as actor, over 7 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (4), 1990s 80 (2), 2010s 70 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 73 across 5 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 2 of 6 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 6, Crime 3, History 2, Western 2, Comedy 1, Documentary 1 - **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $66m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Waterston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q284876, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001832/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8975 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Civil War*](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) (87), [*Heaven's Gate*](https://film.one/film/heavens-gate.md) (79) - **Pluto TV:** [*Hannah and Her Sisters*](https://film.one/film/hannah-and-her-sisters.md) (88) - **Tubi:** [*Crimes and Misdemeanors*](https://film.one/film/crimes-and-misdemeanors.md) (84) - **The Roku Channel:** [*The Killing Fields*](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md) (82) - **Netflix:** [*Godless*](https://film.one/tv/godless.md) (74) - **HBO Max:** [*Miss Sloane*](https://film.one/film/miss-sloane.md) (65) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Sam Waterston > Sam Waterston makes authority believable by letting us see the thinking behind it. We rate his quiet intensity; his earnestness becomes a problem when the writing is already telling us how much to care. Sam Waterston can make thinking look like something worth watching. His authoritative men seem to be considering what they ought to do, which gives even a familiar professional role some uncertainty. We believe that the decision matters to them. The risk is that such seriousness can become a performance of decency, especially when a script is making the same point. Nick Carraway in *The Great Gatsby* (1974) brought his film work wider notice. A decade later, Roland Joffé's *The Killing Fields* (1984) cast him as the journalist Sydney Schanberg. Work with Woody Allen included *Crimes and Misdemeanors* (1989). His career increasingly centred on television after the 1980s, a sensible home for an actor whose authority benefits from familiarity. *The Killing Fields* is the clearest reason to value him and to qualify the praise. We were harrowed by it, chiefly because Haing S. Ngor makes Pran's fear feel immediate without explaining it. Waterston, playing Schanberg, has the harder job of making his side of the friendship equally substantial. He is sincere, but his earnestness sometimes comes too close to Bruce Robinson's emphatic writing. We can feel how much the bond is supposed to matter without always believing it quite enough. That is partly a writing problem, and it would be unfair to ask Waterston to solve it alone. Robinson keeps pressing the friendship, while Mike Oldfield's music adds feeling the images have already earned. Ngor's directness makes that extra persuasion unnecessary; beside him, Waterston can seem to be working too hard. The film is still worth the ordeal, though Ngor gives us the stronger reason to stay. On television, his lawyers include Forrest Bedford in *I'll Fly Away* (1991) and Jack McCoy in Dick Wolf's *Law & Order*, which he joined in 1994. He played McCoy for more than 400 episodes; Charlie Skinner in Aaron Sorkin's *The Newsroom* (2012–2014) gave him another position of professional authority. Those parts give his quiet intensity a practical use: we need to believe these men are weighing decisions. That remains a good reason to seek him out. Give him a script that lets us watch him think without repeatedly asking us to admire his concern. ## Biography Sam Waterston is an American actor. He was born on 15 November 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He studied at Yale University, the Sorbonne in Paris and the American Actors Workshop. Waterston began his career in theatre and has appeared in numerous stage productions, including several Shakespeare plays with the New York Shakespeare Festival. His film roles include Nick Carraway in *The Great Gatsby* (1974) and Sydney Schanberg in *The Killing Fields* (1984), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He is known for his long-running portrayal of Jack McCoy in the television series *Law & Order* (1994–2010, 2022–2024), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Other credits include *Hannah and Her Sisters* (1986), *Crimes and Misdemeanors* (1989), *Serial Mom* (1994), *Miss Sloane* (2016) and *On the Basis of Sex* (2018). He has also directed and produced. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (8) ### Performed in (7) — the average rests on these - *Godless* (2017), Fi1m 74, as Marshall John Cook — [page](https://film.one/tv/godless.md) - *Miss Sloane* (2016), Fi1m 65, as George Dupont — [page](https://film.one/film/miss-sloane.md) - *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, as Jack McCoy — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *The Civil War* (1990), Fi1m 87, as Abraham Lincoln (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) - *Crimes and Misdemeanors* (1989), Fi1m 84, as Ben — [page](https://film.one/film/crimes-and-misdemeanors.md) - *The Killing Fields* (1984), Fi1m 82, as Sydney Schanberg — [page](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md) - *Heaven's Gate* (1980), Fi1m 79, as Frank Canton — [page](https://film.one/film/heavens-gate.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Hannah and Her Sisters* (1986), Fi1m 88, as David (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/hannah-and-her-sisters.md) ## Complete filmography (106) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Carousel* (2026), as Sam - *The Six Triple Eight* (2024), as Franklin Delano Roosevelt - *The Dropout* (2022), series, as George Shultz — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-dropout.md) - *The Man in the Woods* (2020), as Headmaster Waldorf - *On the Basis of Sex* (2018), as Erwin Griswold - *The Mayo Clinic* (2018), as Charlie Mayo (voice) - *Godless* (2017), series, as Marshall John Cook — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/godless.md) - *Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators* (2017), as Narrator (voice) - *Dateline: Saigon* (2017), as Narrator (voice) - *Miss Sloane* (2016), as George Dupont — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/miss-sloane.md) - *Anesthesia* (2016), as Prof. Walter Zarrow - *And It Was Good* (2015), as Judge Alexander Baas / Doctor / Gravedigger - *Grace and Frankie* (2015), series, as Sol Bergstein - *Dean Smith* (2015), as Narrator - *Please Be Normal* (2015), as Dad - *Jo* (2013), series, Actor - *The Newsroom* (2012), series, as Charlie Skinner - *Prohibition* (2011), series, as Reader (voice) - *Masters of Science Fiction* (2007), series, Actor - *The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays* (2006), as John Honeyman (segment "A Walk in the Woods") - *Law & Order: Trial by Jury* (2005), series, as Jack McCoy - *The Commission* (2003), as J. Lee Rankin - *Le Divorce* (2003), as Chester Walker - *The Matthew Shepard Story* (2002), as Dennis Shepard - *A House Divided* (2000), as David Dickson - *The Unfinished Journey* (1999), as Narrator (voice) - *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Jack McCoy - *Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels* (1999), as Narrator - *Family Guy* (1999), series, as Bruce Kaplan (voice) — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/family-guy.md) - *Exiled* (1998), as Jack McCoy - *Miracle at Midnight* (1998), as Dr. Karl Koster - *Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery* (1997), series, as Thomas Jefferson (voice) - *Thomas Jefferson* (1997), series, as Thomas Jefferson (voice) - *Shadow Conspiracy* (1997), as The President - *The Proprietor* (1996), as Harry Bancroft - *Nixon* (1995), as Richard Helms - *The Journey of August King* (1995), as Mooney Wright · Producer - *Amazing Stories: The Movie IV* (1995), as Jordan Manmouth (archive footage) - *Time Life's Lost Civilizations* (1995), series, as Narrator - *Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage* (1994), as Tom Wingfield (archive footage) - *The Enemy Within* (1994), as President William Foster - *Serial Mom* (1994), as Eugene Sutphin - *David's Mother* (1994), as John Nils - *Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker* (1994), as Daniel Chamberlain - *I'll Fly Away: Then and Now* (1993), as Forrest Bedford - *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, as Jack McCoy — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md) - *Earth and the American Dream* (1992), as Reader (voice) - *HBO First Look* (1992), series, Actor - *Mindwalk* (1991), as Jack Edwards - *I'll Fly Away* (1991), series, as Forrest Bedford - *The Man in the Moon* (1991), as Matthew Trant - *The Civil War* (1990), series, as Abraham Lincoln (voice) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Jack McCoy — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *A Captive in the Land* (1990), as Royce - *The Nightmare Years* (1989), series, as Bill Shirer - *Crimes and Misdemeanors* (1989), as Ben — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/crimes-and-misdemeanors.md) - *Welcome Home* (1989), as Woody - *Lantern Hill* (1989), as Andrew Stuart - *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, as G.G. Devoe (segment "As Ye Sow") - *Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami* (1988), as Jim Delmore - *Lincoln* (1988), series, as Abraham Lincoln - *A Walk in the Woods* (1988), as John Honeyman - *September* (1987), as Peter - *Devil's Paradise* (1987), as Jones - *Swimming to Cambodia* (1987), as Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields' (archive footage) - *The Room Upstairs* (1987), as Travis Coles - *Flagrant désir* (1986), as Inspecteur Gerry Morrison - *Just Between Friends* (1986), as Harry Crandall - *The Fifth Missile* (1986), as Capt. Allard Renslow - *Hannah and Her Sisters* (1986), as David (uncredited) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/hannah-and-her-sisters.md) - *Amazing Stories* (1985), series, as Jordan Manmouth - *Warning Sign* (1985), as Cal Morse - *Love Lives On* (1985), as Bernie - *Finnegan Begin Again* (1985), as Paul Broadbent - *The Killing Fields* (1984), as Sydney Schanberg — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md) - *The Boy Who Loved Trolls* (1984), as Ofoeti - *Dempsey* (1983), as Doc Kearns - *In Defense of Kids* (1983), as Paul Wilcox - *Games Mother Never Taught You* (1982), as David Bentells - *Q.E.D.* (1982), series, as Professor Quentin Everett Deverill - *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Robert Oppenheimer, John Honeyman - *Heaven's Gate* (1980), as Frank Canton — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/heavens-gate.md) - *Friendly Fire* (1980), as C.D.B. Bryan - *Oppenheimer* (1980), series, as Robert Oppenheimer - *Hopscotch* (1980), as Jack Cutter - *Sweet William* (1980), as William McClusky - *Eagle's Wing* (1979), as White Bull - *Interiors* (1978), as Mike - *Capricorn One* (1977), as Lt. Col. Peter Willis - *Sweet Revenge* (1976), as Le Clerq - *Journey into Fear* (1975), as Mr. Graham - *Rancho Deluxe* (1975), as Cecil Colson - *Reflections of Murder* (1974), as Michael Elliott - *The Great Gatsby* (1974), as Nick Carraway - *The Glass Menagerie* (1973), as Tom - *Much Ado About Nothing* (1973), as Benedick - *Mahoney's Last Stand* (1972), as Felix - *Savages* (1972), as James, the Limping Man - *Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?* (1971), as Alex Monte - *Cover Me Babe* (1970), as Cameraman - *Three* (1969), as Taylor - *Generation* (1969), as Desmond - *Fitzwilly* (1967), as Oliver - *The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean* (1966), as Andy - *Dr. Kildare* (1961), series, as Mark - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Travis Coles ## Gallery - ![Sam Waterston](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-c7872a4c3c55.jpg) Sam Waterston — iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Sam_Waterston_at_PaleyFest_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![01bIMG_7799 (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-d0ebde8db743.jpg) 01bIMG_7799 (2020) — Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/01bIMG_7799_%2849324396693%29.jpg/1280px-01bIMG_7799_%2849324396693%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![02baIMG_7864 (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-bffea3a4d5f6.jpg) 02baIMG_7864 (2020) — Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/02baIMG_7864_%2849325098352%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![03aIMG_8055 (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-787aebfd4da7.jpg) 03aIMG_8055 (2020) — Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/03aIMG_8055_%2849324879721%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Sam Waterston](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-65ef6195e8df.jpg) Sam Waterston — Image via TMDB - ![Sam Waterston](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-e4126b6ff154.jpg) Sam Waterston — Image via TMDB - ![Sam Waterston](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-d0bb8ce74313.jpg) Sam Waterston — Image via TMDB - ![03cIMG_7814 (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-22f279c2e79f.jpg) 03cIMG_7814 (2020) — Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/03cIMG_7814_%2849325096097%29.jpg/1280px-03cIMG_7814_%2849325096097%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![03cIMG_7830 (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-22efa901aee0.jpg) 03cIMG_7830 (2020) — Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/03cIMG_7830_%2849325096017%29.jpg/1280px-03cIMG_7830_%2849325096017%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Sam Waterston](https://film.one/media/person/118170/gallery-bd3aaf9a6ddd.jpg) Sam Waterston — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1985: Best Actor (nominated), for *The Killing Fields* ### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1994: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (nominated) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sam-waterston