Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Sam Waterston

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000158
Sam Waterston
855 women joined the war to fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail. Faced with discrimination and a country devastated by war, they managed to sort more than 17 million pieces of mail ahead of time.
Play trailer1:18
The Six Triple Eight (2024)
67 Videos
99+ Photos
Sam Waterston was born on 15 November 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Killing Fields (1984), The Great Gatsby (1974) and Law & Order (1990). He has been married to Lynn Louisa Woodruff since 26 January 1976. They have three children. He was previously married to Barbara Rutledge Johns.
BornNovember 15, 1940
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornNovember 15, 1940
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000158
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 7 wins & 38 nominations total

    Photos200

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 194
    View Poster

    Known for

    Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields (1984)
    The Killing Fields
    7.8
    • Sydney Schanberg
    • 1984
    Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in The Great Gatsby (1974)
    The Great Gatsby
    6.4
    • Nick Carraway
    • 1974
    Tony Goldwyn, Maura Tierney, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks, and Odelya Halevi in Law & Order (1990)
    Law & Order
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Executive ADA Jack McCoy
    • DA Jack McCoy
    • Interim DA Jack McCoy
    Matthew Lillard, Kathleen Turner, Ricki Lake, and Sam Waterston in Serial Mom (1994)
    Serial Mom
    6.8
    • Dad
    • 1994

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actor

    • Kerry Washington, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Pepi Sonuga, Sarah Jeffery, Ebony Obsidian, and Shanice Shantay in The Six Triple Eight (2024)
      The Six Triple Eight
      6.7
      • President Roosevelt
      • 2024
    • Tony Goldwyn, Maura Tierney, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks, and Odelya Halevi in Law & Order (1990)
      Law & Order
      7.8
      TV Series
      • DA Jack McCoy
      • Interim DA Jack McCoy
      • Executive ADA Jack McCoy
      • 1994–2024
    • Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie (2015)
      Grace and Frankie
      8.2
      TV Series
      • Sol Bergstein
      • 2015–2022
    • Amanda Seyfried in The Dropout (2022)
      The Dropout
      7.5
      TV Mini Series
      • George Shultz
      • 2022
    • The Final Chapters of Richard Brown Winters (2021)
      The Final Chapters of Richard Brown Winters
      Podcast Series
      • Winters (voice)
      • 2021
    • Jane Alexander, Sam Waterston, Kevin Corrigan, Marin Ireland, William Jackson Harper, Odessa Young, and Jack Kilmer in The Man in the Woods (2020)
      The Man in the Woods
      5.4
      • Headmaster Waldorf
      • 2020
    • Felicity Jones in On the Basis of Sex (2018)
      On the Basis of Sex
      7.1
      • Erwin Griswold
      • 2018
    • Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
      Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
      8.1
      TV Series
      • DA Jack McCoy
      • Executive ADA Jack McCoy
      • 2000–2018
    • Michelle Dockery in Godless (2017)
      Godless
      8.2
      TV Mini Series
      • Marshal John Cook
      • 2017
    • Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane (2016)
      Miss Sloane
      7.5
      • George Dupont
      • 2016
    • Louis Cancelmi and Jessica Joffe in And It Was Good (2015)
      And It Was Good
      • Judge Alexander Baas
      • Doctor
      • Gravedigger
      • 2015
    • Anesthesia (2015)
      Anesthesia
      6.1
      • Walter Zarrow
      • 2015
    • Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom (2012)
      The Newsroom
      8.6
      TV Series
      • Charlie Skinner
      • 2012–2014
    • Please Be Normal (2014)
      Please Be Normal
      5.4
      • Dad
      • 2014
    • The Path to Violence (2013)
      The Path to Violence
      5.6
      TV Series
      • Narrator (2013) (voice)
      • 2013

    Producer

    • Jennifer Beals, Sam Waterston, Tim Daly, and LisaGay Hamilton in A House Divided (2000)
      A House Divided
      6.7
      TV Movie
      • producer
      • 2000
    • The Journey of August King (1995)
      The Journey of August King
      6.5
      • producer
      • 1995

    Director

    • Sam Waterston, John Aaron Bennett, Ashlee Levitch, Jeremy London, and Regina Taylor in I'll Fly Away (1991)
      I'll Fly Away
      8.6
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 1992

    Videos67

    How Amanda Seyfried Instantly Snaps Into Character as Elizabeth Holmes
    Clip 2:15
    How Amanda Seyfried Instantly Snaps Into Character as Elizabeth Holmes
    Swimming to Cambodia
    Clip 2:02
    Swimming to Cambodia
    Swimming to Cambodia
    Clip 2:02
    Swimming to Cambodia
    Oppenheimer
    Clip 2:19
    Oppenheimer
    Official Teaser
    Trailer 1:18
    Official Teaser
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:17
    Official Trailer
    Season 7B Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:14
    Season 7B Official Trailer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative names
      • Sam Waterson
    • Height
      • 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
    • Born
      • November 15, 1940
      • Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
    • Spouses
        Lynn Louisa WoodruffJanuary 26, 1976 - present (3 children)
    • Children
        Elisabeth Waterston
    • Parents
        Alice Tucker Atkinson
    • Relatives
        Roberta Page Waterston(Sibling)
    • Other works
      TV commercial for AT&T (1997)
    • Publicity listings
      • 3 Articles
      • 1 Pictorial
      • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Was good friends with Bruce Lee.
    • Quotes
      [on lawyers] It's more fun to play one than to be one.
    • Trademarks
        Frequently portrays Abraham Lincoln (three times) and other Presidents of the United States

    FAQ12

    Powered by Alexa
    • How old is Sam Waterston?
    • When was Sam Waterston born?
    • Where was Sam Waterston born?

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.