Samuel Atkinson Waterston is an American actor, producer, and director. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and film. He has received various award nominations including an Academy Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Tony Award, British Academy Film Award, Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Having starred in over 80 film and television productions during his 50-year career, he is also known for numerous stage productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway. AllMovie historian Hal Erickson characterized Waterston as having "cultivated a loyal following with his quietly charismatic, unfailingly solid performances." Waterston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2012.
Waterston studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the American Actors Workshop. He started his career in theater on the New York stage, appearing in multiple revivals of Shakespeare. In 1975, he starred as Hamlet at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, and later performed the role at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. In 1977, he starred in an off-Broadway production of Measure for Measure as Duke Vincentio alongside Meryl Streep and John Cazale at the Delacorte Theatre. Throughout Waterston's theater career, he continued to appear alongside notable actors including Raul Julia in Indians (1969), James Woods in The Trial of Catonsville Nine (1970), Liv Ullmann in A Doll's House (1975), Jane Alexander in Hamlet (1975), and Glenn Close in Benefactors (1980). In 1993, he portrayed Abraham Lincoln onstage in Abe Lincoln in Illinois where he received a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his performance.In 1974 Waterston played Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (1974) alongside Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. He starred alongside Jeff Bridges in Rancho Deluxe in 1975, then appeared in Woody Allen's Interiors (1978), the Walter Matthau comedy Hopscotch, and Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (the latter two in 1980). He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields (1984), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor as well as BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. Waterston continued to appear in multiple Woody Allen films including Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), September (1987), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). He also appeared in The Man in the Moon (1991) alongside Reese Witherspoon in her feature film debut, John Waters' Serial Mom (1994), and Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995). More recently he appeared in Miss Sloane (2016) and On the Basis of Sex (2018).
In 1973, one of his early television roles included a television film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, alongside Katharine Hepburn. Among a variety of other television roles, he is perhaps most known for his iconic starring role as Jack McCoy on the NBC television series Law & Order (1994–2010, 2022–), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award along with Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nominations. He also portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the miniseries Lincoln (1988). From 2012 to 2014, he portrayed Charlie Skinner in Aaron Sorkin's political HBO drama series The Newsroom alongside Jeff Daniels. He has since acted in the western limited series Godless (2017), the comedy series Grace and Frankie (2015–2022), and the limited series The Dropout (2022). In 2022, he returned as Jack McCoy in a revival of Law and Order (2022).
Sol turns thousands of years of human wisdom from the world’s spiritual traditions into a totally unique personality profile. To get your own profile, check compatibility with friends and much more, download the Sol App today.
Some of their strengths
Sam Waterston has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Strong, Intuitive, Honest, Perseverent, Practical, Diplomatic, and Curious.
Intense and Passionate
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Sam Waterston is someone who is an intense, passionate, and intuitive person who is fiercely independent, authentic and direct when engaging with others. A person who looks for jobs that tend to reflect their identity.
Adventurous and Free
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Sam Waterston well know them as someone who can be talented, wayward and free, like a big river or the ocean.
Methodical and Exacting
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Sam Waterston as someone who is careful, methodical, and a perfectionist.
A person who forms successful business partnerships, who appreciates the variety the world has to offer, who takes a frugal approach to life and tends to be a workaholic, and who engages in things that let them express their opinion.
Emotionally Intelligent and Intuitive
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Sam Waterston is someone who tends to have strong emotional intelligence and intuition, and who can be a catalyst of change for others.
They are also someone who is balanced, organized, and in-charge, and who loves traveling, working hard, and figuring out the patterns of things.
Mysterious and Methodical
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Sam Waterston tends to be someone who can come across as mysterious and intense, who can be a complex thinker who is methodical and intuitive, and who can overcome challenges that most others would not be able to.
Some of Sam Waterston's challenges
While Sam Waterston has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Sam Waterston can be Stubborn, Impulsive, Complicated, Brusque, Idle, Hesitant, and Narcissistic.
Complicated and Brusque
One of Sam Waterston's key challenges is that they are someone who can be complicated and gruff with others.
Sam Waterston must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.
Sensitive and Critical
Sam Waterston is someone who can be insecure, critical, and pessimistic, who can have difficulty relaxing, can be possessive and jealous, and who can have difficulty listening to others' opinions and perspectives and make hasty decisions.
Sensitive and Aggressive
Finally, Sam Waterston also can be too "touchy-feely", have a hard time expressing feelings, be too aggressive and headstrong, and be too unforgiving of others' mistakes.
