Biography
Who is Sam Waterston?
Early life and education
Sam Waterston was born on November 15, 1940, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was the third of four children born to George Chychele Waterston and Alice Tucker Atkinson. George was a language teacher and semanticist. Alice was a scene painter with English ancestry. She descended from passengers on the Mayflower. Sam's father came to the United States from Scotland via England. He grew up with three siblings named Roberta, George, and Ellen.
He attended high school at the Groton School and finished in 1958. Later, he went to Yale College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. Sam also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. He furthered his training at the American Actors Workshop.
Theater career
Sam began his professional work on the New York City stage. He made his Broadway debut in 1962 in the play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. In 1963, he played Silvius in As You Like It at the Delacorte Theatre. He later performed in First One Asleep, Whistle and Halfway Up the Tree.
He spent much of his early career at the Public Theatre. His roles there included Indians in 1969 and The Trial of Catonsville Nine in 1970. He appeared in A Doll's House and Hamlet in 1975. He also acted in Measure for Measure in 1977 and Benefactors in 1980. He played the title role in Hamlet, which earned him a Drama Desk Award. In 1993, he played Abraham Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois on Broadway. This role earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play.
Film and television roles
Sam's first movie was The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean in 1965. He played Nick Carraway in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby. In 1984, he starred as Sydney Schanberg in The Killing Fields. This performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He worked with Woody Allen in several movies including Interiors, Hannah and Her Sisters, September, and Crimes and Misdemeanors. Other films include Nixon, Serial Mom, and On the Basis of Sex. He also acted in Hopscotch, Heaven's Gate, and Miss Sloane.
On television, he played J. Robert Oppenheimer in a 1980 BBC miniseries. This role earned him a BAFTA nomination. He portrayed a district attorney in I'll Fly Away from 1991 to 1993. This performance won him a Golden Globe Award. From 1994 to 2010, he starred as Jack McCoy in Law & Order. He returned to the role from 2022 to 2024. He also played Charlie Skinner in The Newsroom. Other TV credits include Godless, The Dropout, and Grace and Frankie.
Awards and family
Sam Waterston received a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on Law & Order. He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. In 2012, he joined the American Theater Hall of Fame. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Killing Fields. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for The Great Gatsby.
He has been married to Lynn Louisa Woodruff and Barbara Rutledge Johns. He is the father of four children. These children are Katherine, Elisabeth, James, and Graham Waterston.
Birthday and age
Sam Waterston was born on November 15, 1940, which makes Sam 85 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Sam shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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