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.

Filmography

• 2026Carousel — Sam
• 2024The Six Triple Eight — Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• The Dropout — George Shultz
• 2020The Man in the Woods — Headmaster Waldorf
• 2018On the Basis of Sex — Erwin Griswold
• 2018The Mayo Clinic — Charlie Mayo (voice)
• 2017Dateline: Saigon — Narrator (voice)
• Godless — Marshall John Cook
• 2017Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators — Narrator (voice)
• 2016Anesthesia — Prof. Walter Zarrow
• 2016Miss Sloane — George Dupont
• 2015And It Was Good — Judge Alexander Baas / Doctor / Gravedigger
• 2015Dean Smith — Narrator
• Grace and Frankie — Sol Bergstein
• 2015Please Be Normal — Dad
• Jo
• The Newsroom — Charlie Skinner
• Prohibition — Reader (voice)
• Masters of Science Fiction
• 2006The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays — John Honeyman (segment "A Walk in the Woods")
• Law & Order: Trial by Jury — Jack McCoy
• 2003Le Divorce — Chester Walker
• 2003The Commission — J. Lee Rankin
• 2002The Matthew Shepard Story — Dennis Shepard
• 2000A House Divided — David Dickson
• Family Guy — Bruce Kaplan (voice)
• 1999Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels — Narrator
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Jack McCoy
• 1999The Unfinished Journey — Narrator (voice)
• 1998Exiled — Jack McCoy
• 1998Miracle at Midnight — Dr. Karl Koster
• Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery — Thomas Jefferson (voice)
• 1997Shadow Conspiracy — The President
• Thomas Jefferson — Thomas Jefferson (voice)
• 1996The Proprietor — Harry Bancroft
• 1995Amazing Stories: The Movie IV — Jordan Manmouth (archive footage)
• 1995Nixon — Richard Helms
• 1995The Journey of August King — Mooney Wright, Producer
• Time Life's Lost Civilizations — Narrator
• 1994Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker — Daniel Chamberlain
• 1994David's Mother — John Nils
• 1994Serial Mom — Eugene Sutphin
• 1994Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage — Tom Wingfield (archive footage)
• 1994The Enemy Within — President William Foster
• Homicide: Life on the Street — Jack McCoy
• 1993I'll Fly Away: Then and Now — Forrest Bedford
• 1992Earth and the American Dream — Reader (voice)
• HBO First Look
• I'll Fly Away — Forrest Bedford
• 1991Mindwalk — Jack Edwards
• 1991The Man in the Moon — Matthew Trant
• 1990A Captive in the Land — Royce
• Law & Order — Jack McCoy
• The Civil War — Abraham Lincoln (voice)
• 1989Crimes and Misdemeanors — Ben
• 1989Lantern Hill — Andrew Stuart
• Tales from the Crypt — G.G. Devoe (segment "As Ye Sow")
• The Nightmare Years — Bill Shirer
• 1989Welcome Home — Woody
• 1988A Walk in the Woods — John Honeyman
• Lincoln — Abraham Lincoln
• 1988Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami — Jim Delmore
• 1987Devil's Paradise — Jones
• 1987September — Peter
• 1987Swimming to Cambodia — Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields' (archive footage)
• 1987The Room Upstairs — Travis Coles
• 1986Flagrant désir — Inspecteur Gerry Morrison
• 1986Hannah and Her Sisters — David (uncredited)
• 1986Just Between Friends — Harry Crandall
• 1986The Fifth Missile — Capt. Allard Renslow
• Amazing Stories — Jordan Manmouth
• 1985Finnegan Begin Again — Paul Broadbent
• 1985Love Lives On — Bernie
• 1985Warning Sign — Cal Morse
• 1984The Boy Who Loved Trolls — Ofoeti
• 1984The Killing Fields — Sydney Schanberg
• 1983Dempsey — Doc Kearns
• 1983In Defense of Kids — Paul Wilcox
• American Playhouse — Robert Oppenheimer, John Honeyman
• 1982Games Mother Never Taught You — David Bentells
• Q.E.D. — Professor Quentin Everett Deverill
• 1980Friendly Fire — C.D.B. Bryan
• 1980Heaven's Gate — Frank Canton
• 1980Hopscotch — Jack Cutter
• Oppenheimer — Robert Oppenheimer
• 1980Sweet William — William McClusky
• 1979Eagle's Wing — White Bull
• 1978Interiors — Mike
• 1977Capricorn One — Lt. Col. Peter Willis
• 1976Sweet Revenge — Le Clerq
• 1975Journey into Fear — Mr. Graham
• 1975Rancho Deluxe — Cecil Colson
• 1974Reflections of Murder — Michael Elliott
• 1974The Great Gatsby — Nick Carraway
• 1973Much Ado About Nothing — Benedick
• 1973The Glass Menagerie — Tom
• 1972Mahoney's Last Stand — Felix
• 1972Savages — James, the Limping Man
• 1971Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? — Alex Monte
• 1970Cover Me Babe — Cameraman
• 1969Generation — Desmond
• 1969Three — Taylor
• 1967Fitzwilly — Oliver
• 1966The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean — Andy
• Dr. Kildare — Mark
• Hallmark Hall of Fame — Travis Coles

Appearances as themselves (19)

• 2024A Case for Love — Self
• 2024Merchant Ivory — Self
• 2024Rain Falls from Earth: Surviving Cambodia's Darkest Hour — Self (voice)
• Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled — Self
• 2021Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time — Self (voice)
• 2020Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story — Self
• 2018Jane Fonda in Five Acts — Self - (archive footage)
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• 2010The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear — Self
• The Colbert Report — Self (uncredited)
• 2004Hammer and Cycle — Self - Narrator
• 1999In Bad Taste — Self
• 1999Moment of Impact: Stories of the Pulitzer Prize Photographs — Self / Host / Narrator
• The View — Self, Self - Guest
• 1990Night of 100 Stars III — Self
• Jeopardy! — Self
• People's Choice Awards — Self - Presenter
• Saturday Night Live — Self (uncredited)
• Film '72 — Self