Sam Waterston is an American actor and producer best known for his portrayal of district attorney Jack McCoy in the long-running police procedural and legal drama television show Law & Order.

Waterston made his film debut in the 1965 drama film The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean. Waterston went on to appear as bond salesman Nick Carraway in the 1974 feature film version of The Great Gatsby, earning Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year. Waterston also portrayed Old West figure Frank Canton in Heaven's Gate (1980). Two years later, Waterston played American journalist Sydney Schanberg in the 1984 British drama The Killing Fields, opposite Haing S. Ngor and John Malkovich. For his performance, Waterston was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

On television, Waterston played a shoe salesman in the television drama film The Glass Menagerie (1973), receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Waterston's portrayal of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 1980 television miniseries Oppenheimer saw him earn a Golden Globe nomination. He also played the title role of President Abraham Lincoln in the miniseries Lincoln (1988) and the 1990 documentary miniseries The Civil War. He portrayed a district attorney in drama television series I'll Fly Away (1991–93), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. In 1994, he made his first appearance as Jack McCoy in Law & Order. Waterston went on to become the show's second longest-running cast member. The role won him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He has made guest appearances as McCoy on other shows, including Homicide: Life on the Street (1997, 99) and spin-offs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000, '07, '10, '18) and Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), and in Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998). Waterston portrayed the president of a fictional news corporation on political drama The Newsroom (2012–14).

Waterston has starred in numerous stage productions at the Public Theatre, including Indians (1969), The Trial of Catonsville Nine (1970), A Doll's House (1975), Hamlet (1975), Measure for Measure (1977), and Benefactors (1980). He portrayed Abraham Lincoln on Broadway in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1993), receiving a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Waterston has also appeared in La Turista (1967), Halfway Up the Tree (1967), and Henry IV, Part 1, as well as Henry IV, Part 2 (1968), (1972, 1975–76, 2008), Much Ado About Nothing (1972–73, 2004), The Tempest (1974, 2015), and King Lear (2011).

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean	1965	Andy
Fitzwilly	1967	Oliver
Generation	1969	Desmond
Three	1969	Taylor
Cover Me Babe	1970	Cameraman	Also known as Run Shadow Run
Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?	1971	Alex
Savages	1972	James
Mahoney's Last Stand	1972	Felix	Also known as Mahoney's Estate
The Great Gatsby	1974	Nick Carraway
Rancho Deluxe	1975	Cecil Colson
Journey into Fear	1975	Mr. Graham
Sweet Revenge	1976	Le Clerq	Also known as Dandy, the All American Girl
Capricorn One	1977	Lieutenant Colonel Peter Willis, USAF
Interiors	1978	Mike
Eagle's Wing	1979	White Bull
Sweet William	1980	William
Hopscotch	1980	Joe Cutter
Heaven's Gate	1980	Frank Canton
The Killing Fields	1984	Sydney Schanberg
Warning Sign	1985	Cal Morse
Hannah and Her Sisters	1986	David	Uncredited
Just Between Friends	1986	Harry Crandall
Flagrant désir	1986	Inspector Gerry Morrison	Also known as Trade Secrets
Des Teufels Paradies	1987	Mr. Jones	Also known as Devil's Paradise
September	1987	Peter
Welcome Home	1989	Woody
Crimes and Misdemeanors	1989	Ben
Mindwalk	1990	Jack Edwards
A Captive in the Land	1991	Rupert Royce
The Man in the Moon	1991	Matthew Trant
Serial Mom	1994	Eugene Sutphin, DDS
The Journey of August King	1995	Mooney Wright	Also producer
Nixon	1995	Richard Helms	Scenes featured only in the director's cut version
The Proprietor	1996	Harry Bancroft
Shadow Conspiracy	1997	President of the United States
Le Divorce	2003	Chester Walker
The Commission	2003	J. Lee Rankin
Please Be Normal	2014	Dad
Anesthesia	2015	Professor Walter Zarrow
Miss Sloane	2016	George Dupont
On the Basis of Sex	2018	Erwin Griswold
Six Triple Eight	TBA		Filming

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1965	Dr. Kildare	Mark	2 Episodes
1967	N.Y.P.D.	Marco	Episode: "Murder for Infinity"
1973	Much Ado About Nothing	Benedick	Television film
	The Glass Menagerie	Tom Wingfield	Television film
1974	Reflections of Murder	Michael Elliott	Television film
1979	Friendly Fire	C. D. B. Bryan	Television film
1980	Oppenheimer	J. Robert Oppenheimer	7 episodes; Miniseries First broadcast in the United States in 1982
1982	Q.E.D.	Prof. Quentin Everett Deverill	6 episodes
	Games Mother Never Taught You	David Bentells	Television film
	Freedom to Speak	Theodore Roosevelt	12 episodes; Miniseries
1983	In Defense of Kids	Paul Wilcox	Television film
	Dempsey	Doc Kearns	Television film
1984	The Boy Who Loved Trolls	Ofoeti	Television film
1985	Finnegan Begin Again	Paul Broadbent	Television film
	Love Lives On	Bernie	Television film
1986	The Fifth Missile	Captain Allard Renslow	Television film
	Amazing Stories	Jordan Manmouth	Episode: "Mirror, Mirror"
1987	The Room Upstairs	Travis Coles	Television film
1988	Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami	Jim Delmore	Television film
	Lincoln	Abraham Lincoln	Miniseries
1989	The Nightmare Years	William L. Shirer	Miniseries
1990	Lantern Hill	Andrew Stuart	Television film
	The Civil War	Abraham Lincoln	Voice role; 9 episodes; Miniseries documentary
1991–1993	I'll Fly Away	Forrest Bedford	38 episodes Also directed episode "Since Walter" (1992)
1992	Warburg: A Man of Influence	Siegmund Warburg	Miniseries
1993	Tales from the Crypt	G. G. Devoe	Episode: "As Ye Sow"
	I'll Fly Away: Then and Now	Forrest Bedford	Television film
1994	Assault at West Point	Daniel Chamberlain	Television film
	David's Mother	John Nils	Television film
	The Enemy Within	President William Foster	Television film
1994–2010 2022–2024	Law & Order	Jack McCoy	405 episodes
1997 & 1999	Homicide: Life on the Street		Episodes: "Baby, It's You", "Sideshow"
1998	Miracle at Midnight	Doctor Karl Koster	TV movie
	Exiled: A Law & Order Movie	Jack McCoy
2000	Family Guy	Doctor Bruce Kaplan	Voice roles; 2 Episodes
	A House Divided	David Dickson	Television film; Also producer
2000–2018	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Jack McCoy	4 episodes
2002	The Matthew Shepard Story	Dennis Shepard	Television film
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Jack McCoy	Episodes: "The Abominable Snowman", "Skeleton"
2007	Masters of Science Fiction	Robert Havelmann	Episode: "A Clean Escape"
2009	The National Parks: America's Best Idea	Reader	2 Episodes
2011	Prohibition	Reader	3 Episodes; Miniseries documentary
2012–14	The Newsroom	Charlie Skinner	25 episodes
2013	Jo	David Zifkin	Episode: "Le Marais"
2015–2022	Grace and Frankie	Sol Bergstein	Netflix; 94 episodes
2017	Godless	Marshal John Cook	Netflix Limited series
2022	The Dropout	George Shultz	Hulu Limited series

Narrator

Title	Year	Notes	Ref(s)
Nova	1987	Episode: "Freud Under Analysis"
American Experience	1988	Episode: "Views of a Vanishing Frontier"
Lost Civilizations	1995	Documentary
The Unfinished Journey	1999	Documentary short film
Moment of Impact: Stories of the Pulitzer Prize Photographs	1999	Documentary
The Last Boat Out	2010	Documentary short film
The Path to Violence	2013	Documentary
Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen	2013	Documentary
Dateline: Saigon	2015	Documentary
Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story	2020	Documentary

Theater

Title	Year	Role	Venue	Ref(s)
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad	1962	Bellboy	Phoenix Repertory Theatre
As You Like It	1963	Silvius	Delacorte Theater
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad	1963	Jonathan	Morosco Theatre
Thistle in My Bed	1963	Wessy	Gramercy Arts Theatre
The Knack	1964–66	Colin	New Theatre
Fitz/ Biscuit	1966	Woodfin (Fitz)	Circle in the Square Theatre
La Turista	1967	Kent	Theater at St. Clement's Church
Posterity for Sale	1967	Aburbio	Theater at St. Clement's Church
Halfway Up the Tree	1967	Robert	Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Ergo	1968	Aslan	Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theater
Muzeeka / Red Cross	1968	Jack Argue (Muzeeka) / Jim (Red Cross)	Provincetown Playhouse
Henry IV, Part 1	1968	Prince Hal	Delacorte Theater
Henry IV, Part 2	1968	Prince Hal	Delacorte Theater
Spitting Image	1969	Gary Rogers	Lucille Lortel Theatre
Indians	1969–70	John Grass	Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Hay Fever	1970	Simon Bliss	Helen Hayes Theatre
The Trial of the Catonsville Nine	1971	Thomas Lewis	Lyceum Theatre
The Tale of Cymbeline	1971	Cloten	Delacorte Theater
Hamlet	1972	Laertes	Delacorte Theater
Much Ado About Nothing	1972–73	Benedick	Winter Garden Theatre
The Tempest	1974	Prospero	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
A Doll's House	1975	Torvald Helmer	Vivian Beaumont Theater
Hamlet	1975	Prince Hamlet / Ghost	Delacorte Theater
Hamlet	1975–76	Prince Hamlet	Vivian Beaumont Theater
Measure for Measure	1976	Duke Vincentio	Delacorte Theater
Chez Nous	1977	Phil	Stage 73
Lunch Hour	1980–81	Oliver	Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Gardenia	1982	Joshua Hickman	Stage 73
Three Sisters	1982–83	Aleksandr Ignatyevich Vershinin	New York City Center
Benefactors	1985–86	David Kitzinger	Brooks Atkinson Theatre
A Walk in the Woods	1988	John Honeyman	Booth Theatre
Love Letters	1989	Andrew Makepeace Ladd III	Promenade Theatre
The Master Builder	1990–91	Halvard Solness	Hartford Stage
Abe Lincoln in Illinois	1993–94	Abraham Lincoln	Vivian Beaumont Theater
Much Ado About Nothing	2004	Governor Leonato	Delacorte Theater
Travesties	2005	Henry Carr	Long Wharf Theatre
Hamlet	2008	Polonius	Delacorte Theater
Have You Seen Us?	2009	Henry Parsons	Long Wharf Theatre
Have You Seen Us?	2010	Henry Parsons	Folger Theatre
The Old Masters	2011	Bernard Berenson	Long Wharf Theatre
King Lear	2011	King Lear	Joseph Papp Public Theater/Newman Theater
The Tempest	2015	Prospero	Delacorte Theater