Sam Waterston
Acting
128
Acting Credits
Biography
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 ...
Known For
Filmography
Carousel
2026
as Sam
Merchant Ivory
2024
as Self
A Case for Love
2024
as Self
The Six Triple Eight
2024
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Rain Falls from Earth: Surviving Cambodia's Darkest Hour
2024
as Self (voice)
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
2023
as Self
The Dropout
2022
as George Shultz
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
2021
as Self (voice)
The Man in the Woods
2020
as Headmaster Waldorf
Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story
2020
as Self
On the Basis of Sex
2018
as Erwin Griswold
The Mayo Clinic
2018
as Charlie Mayo (voice)
Jane Fonda in Five Acts
2018
as Self - (archive footage)
Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators
2017
as Narrator (voice)
Dateline: Saigon
2017
as Narrator (voice)
Godless
2017
as Marshall John Cook
Anesthesia
2016
as Prof. Walter Zarrow
Miss Sloane
2016
as George Dupont
Please Be Normal
2015
as Dad
Dean Smith
2015
as Narrator
And It Was Good
2015
as Judge Alexander Baas / Doctor / Gravedigger
Grace and Frankie
2015
as Sol Bergstein
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
Jo
2013
The Newsroom
2012
as Charlie Skinner
Prohibition
2011
as Reader (voice)
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
2010
as Self
Masters of Science Fiction
2007
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as John Honeyman (segment "A Walk in the Woods")
The Colbert Report
2005
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
2005
as Jack McCoy
The Colbert Report
2005
as Self (uncredited)
Hammer and Cycle
2004
as Self - Narrator
Le Divorce
2003
as Chester Walker
The Commission
2003
as J. Lee Rankin
The Matthew Shepard Story
2002
as Dennis Shepard
A House Divided
2000
as David Dickson
In Bad Taste
1999
as Self
Moment of Impact: Stories of the Pulitzer Prize Photographs
1999
as Self / Host / Narrator
The Unfinished Journey
1999
as Narrator (voice)
Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels
1999
as Narrator
Family Guy
1999
as Bruce Kaplan (voice)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Jack McCoy
Miracle at Midnight
1998
as Dr. Karl Koster
Exiled
1998
as Jack McCoy
Shadow Conspiracy
1997
as The President
The View
1997
as Self
Thomas Jefferson
1997
as Thomas Jefferson (voice)
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
1997
as Thomas Jefferson (voice)
The View
1997
as Self - Guest
The Proprietor
1996
as Harry Bancroft
The Journey of August King
1995
as Mooney Wright
Nixon
1995
as Richard Helms
Amazing Stories: The Movie IV
1995
as Jordan Manmouth (archive footage)
Time Life's Lost Civilizations
1995
as Narrator
Serial Mom
1994
as Eugene Sutphin
The Enemy Within
1994
as President William Foster
David's Mother
1994
as John Nils
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
1994
as Daniel Chamberlain
Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage
1994
as Tom Wingfield (archive footage)
I'll Fly Away: Then and Now
1993
as Forrest Bedford
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
as Jack McCoy
Earth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)
HBO First Look
1992
The Man in the Moon
1991
as Matthew Trant
Mindwalk
1991
as Jack Edwards
I'll Fly Away
1991
as Forrest Bedford
Night of 100 Stars III
1990
as Self
A Captive in the Land
1990
as Royce
Law & Order
1990
as Jack McCoy
The Civil War
1990
as Abraham Lincoln (voice)
Crimes and Misdemeanors
1989
as Ben
Welcome Home
1989
as Woody
Lantern Hill
1989
as Andrew Stuart
Tales from the Crypt
1989
as G.G. Devoe (segment "As Ye Sow")
The Nightmare Years
1989
as Bill Shirer
Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami
1988
as Jim Delmore
A Walk in the Woods
1988
as John Honeyman
Lincoln
1988
as Abraham Lincoln
September
1987
as Peter
Swimming to Cambodia
1987
as Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields' (archive footage)
The Room Upstairs
1987
as Travis Coles
Devil's Paradise
1987
as Jones
Hannah and Her Sisters
1986
as David (uncredited)
The Fifth Missile
1986
as Capt. Allard Renslow
Flagrant désir
1986
as Inspecteur Gerry Morrison
Just Between Friends
1986
as Harry Crandall
Warning Sign
1985
as Cal Morse
Love Lives On
1985
as Bernie
Finnegan Begin Again
1985
as Paul Broadbent
Amazing Stories
1985
as Jordan Manmouth
The Killing Fields
1984
as Sydney Schanberg
The Boy Who Loved Trolls
1984
as Ofoeti
Jeopardy!
1984
as Self
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
as Professor Quentin Everett Deverill
American Playhouse
1982
as Robert Oppenheimer
American Playhouse
1982
as John Honeyman
Heaven's Gate
1980
as Frank Canton
Hopscotch
1980
as Jack Cutter
Sweet William
1980
as William McClusky
Friendly Fire
1980
as C.D.B. Bryan
Oppenheimer
1980
as Robert Oppenheimer
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
Rancho Deluxe
1975
as Cecil Colson
Journey into Fear
1975
as Mr. Graham
People's Choice Awards
1975
as Self - Presenter
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self (uncredited)
The Great Gatsby
1974
as Nick Carraway
Reflections of Murder
1974
as Michael Elliott
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
Film '72
1971
as Self
Cover Me Babe
1970
as Cameraman
Generation
1969
as Desmond
Three
1969
as Taylor
Fitzwilly
1967
as Oliver
The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean
1966
as Andy
Dr. Kildare
1961
as Mark
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Travis Coles