1963–1973: Early roles The classically trained Waterston has numerous stage credits to his name. In 1962, he made his
Broadway debut playing Jonathan in the
Arthur Kopit play ''
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad'' at the
Morosco Theatre. The following year, he made his debut at the
Delacorte Theatre playing Silvius in a production of
William Shakespeare's
As You Like It (1963). He made his film debut in the 1965 drama movie
The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean. He returned to Broadway playing David in
First One Asleep, Whistle (1966), and Robert in the
Peter Ustinov play
Halfway Up the Tree (1967). On October 13, 1969, he starred in
Arthur Kopit's play
Indians on
Broadway at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The play was directed by Gene Frankel, and he acted alongside
Stacy Keach as Buffalo Bill,
Manu Tupou as Sitting Bull, and other actors such as
Tom Aldredge,
Kevin Conway,
Charles Durning, and
Raul Julia. The play ran for 96 performances and 16 previews. During this time, Waterston acted in supporting roles in numerous films including
Delbert Mann's romantic comedy
Fitzwilly (1967) starring
Dick Van Dyke, and the comedy film
Generation (1969). He had a leading role in the British romantic drama
Three acting opposite
Charlotte Rampling and
Robie Porter. He acted in the
Merchant Ivory film
Savages based loosely on the
Luis Buñuel film
The Exterminating Angel (1962). Waterston continued acting in plays at the
Public Theatre including portraying Benedick in
Joseph Papp's production of
William Shakespeare's
Much Ado About Nothing (1972) and played the
title role in
Hamlet (1975), the former earned him a
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance.
1974–1993: Rise to prominence Waterston has a history of doing theater work in the summer, often seen acting in such venues as
Long Wharf Theatre and the
Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven. In 1973, acting opposite
Katharine Hepburn, he played her son in the television drama film
The Glass Menagerie (1973), receiving a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work in the film. He went on to appear as
bond salesman
Nick Carraway in the 1974 feature film version of
The Great Gatsby acting alongside
Robert Redford,
Mia Farrow, and
Bruce Dern. For his performance he earned two
Golden Globe nominations:
Best Supporting Actor and
New Star of the Year. The following year, Waterston acted in the neo-Western comedy film
Rancho Deluxe (1975) starring
Jeff Bridges,
Elizabeth Ashley, and
Harry Dean Stanton. That same year, he acted in the Canadian thriller
Journey into Fear with
Zero Mostel,
Vincent Price and
Shelley Winters. In 1976, he acted in the thriller
Sweet Revenge opposite
Stockard Channing. The following year, he acted in the British-American thriller
Capricorn One playing Lieutenant Colonel Peter Willis. The film had an ensemble cast which included
Elliott Gould,
James Brolin,
O. J. Simpson, and
Hal Holbrook. Also in 1977, he starred in an Off-Broadway production of
William Shakespeare's
Measure for Measure as Duke Vincentio alongside
Meryl Streep and
John Cazale at the
Delacorte Theatre. Waterston made his first collaboration with
Woody Allen playing Mike in the drama
Interiors (1978) starring
Diane Keaton,
Geraldine Page,
Maureen Stapleton, and
E.G. Marshall. The film was a departure from comedy from Allen and received critical acclaim as well as nominations for five
Academy Awards. In 1980, he starred in
Benefactors alongside
Glenn Close,
Mary Beth Hurt, and
Simon Jones at
The Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway. Also in 1980, he portrayed
Old West figure
Frank Canton in ''
Heaven's Gate and theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the miniseries Oppenheimer (1980) earned him nominations for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Television Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. Waterston reunited with Woody Allen playing David, a romantic interest for Dianne Wiest and Carrie Fisher in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Peter in September (1987), and Ben, a rabbi who is losing his eyesight Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). He also took a supporting role in the coming of age film The Man in the Moon (1991) starring Reese Witherspoon in her feature film debut, the John Waters satirical black comedy film Serial Mom (1994) and played President Abraham Lincoln in the miniseries Lincoln'' (1988). Waterston voiced Lincoln in the 1990
Ken Burns documentary miniseries
The Civil War. In 1993, he portrayed
Abraham Lincoln onstage in
Abe Lincoln in Illinois and received
Tony Award,
Drama Desk Award, and
Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his performance.
1994–2010: Law and Order and acclaim In 1994, Waterston debuted as Executive
Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy in the fifth season of the
NBC television series
Law & Order created by
Dick Wolf. He played the role of John James "Jack" McCoy, who would eventually become Manhattan
District Attorney, through the series finale in 2010. The role won him a
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, as well as several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Upon the show's cancellation, Waterston was the second longest-serving cast member (behind
S. Epatha Merkerson), having reprised his role through 16 seasons. He has also made guest appearances as McCoy on other crime shows, such as
Homicide: Life on the Street (1997, 99),
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998), and spin-offs
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000, 07, 10, 18) and
Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005). Due to the success of the
New York–based TV series, Waterston and his fellow longtime
Law & Order castmate
Jerry Orbach were declared "Living Landmarks" by the
New York Landmarks Conservancy. Waterston has appeared as a celebrity contestant on
Jeopardy! twice. He made a popular
cameo appearance on a 1995 episode of
Saturday Night Live as himself, extolling the virtues of
Old Glory Insurance, meant to protect the elderly from
robot attacks. During this time, he portrayed
Richard Helms in
Oliver Stone's political drama
Nixon (1995) but his scenes were ultimately cut and remain in the
Director's cut version of the film. The following year, he reunited with
Merchant Ivory for
The Proprietor (1996) starring
Jeanne Moreau. He portrayed a fictional
president of the United States in the thriller
Shadow Conspiracy starring
Charlie Sheen and
Donald Sutherland. He acted in his third Merchant Ivory film
Le Divorce (2003) starring
Kate Hudson and
Naomi Watts. and Waterston Waterston appeared as
Polonius in the 2008
Shakespeare in the Park production of
Hamlet. His performance received a positive review in
The New York Times. On February 12, 2009, Waterston portrayed
Abraham Lincoln in
Earl Robinson's "The Lonesome Train: A Music Legend for Actors, Folk Singers, Choirs, and Orchestra" at the
Riverside Church in New York City. The concert was performed to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday.
2011–present: Established actor Waterston has had several other high profile television roles, including his portrayal of cable news president Charlie Skinner in
The Newsroom, an
HBO series by
Aaron Sorkin. Waterston acted opposite
Jeff Daniels,
Emily Mortimer,
Dev Patel,
Olivia Munn, and
Jane Fonda in the series, which ran from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, Waterston appeared as
Prospero in a
Shakespeare in the Park production of
The Tempest, directed by Michael Greif. In 2015, Waterston joined the cast of the
Netflix series
Grace and Frankie, starring with
Martin Sheen,
Jane Fonda and
Lily Tomlin. In an interview with the
New York Daily News, Waterston supported Tomlin and Fonda in demanding higher salaries than the supporting actors, saying, "I think they're being cheated." His character Sol appeared on all seven seasons of the show, which concluded in 2022. In 2017, Waterston played Marshal John Cook in the
Netflix western limited series
Godless opposite
Jeff Daniels and
Michelle Dockery. Waterston subsequently portrayed George DuPont in the political thriller
Miss Sloane starring
Jessica Chastain and played
Erwin Griswold in the biographical drama
On the Basis of Sex starring
Felicity Jones as
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In 2021, Waterston was cast in the revival of
Law & Order, reprising his role as District Attorney
Jack McCoy. He appeared on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote the show. In 2022, he portrayed
George Shultz in the
Hulu limited series
The Dropout starring
Amanda Seyfried as
Elizabeth Holmes. On February 2, 2024, Waterston left
Law & Order after 20 seasons, with his character Jack McCoy, whom he had played for 405 episodes, being replaced by a new D.A. portrayed by
Tony Goldwyn. ==Personal life==