With an almost unprecedented track record as aversatile stage, screen and television actor, Sam Waterston is one of the entertainment industry's most respected leading men. Waterston joined the cast of the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning NBC series LAW & ORDER two years ago, as Jack McCoy, a charismatic and tough Assistant D.A. who sees the law as a gigantic chess game, and he is a master player who is brilliant at wooing juries.

Waterston's broad talents have earned him critical acclaim and a host of awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in "The Killing Fields" as well as two Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe award for the NBC series "I'll Fly Away." Shortly before joining the cast of "Law & Order," Waterston returned to his roots on Broadway by completing a successful run in the title role of the 16th president in "Abe Lincoln In Illinois" at the Lincoln Center Theater, for which he received a Tony nomination. Having decided upon an acting career at the age of seven when his father directed him in a production of "Antigone," Waterston prepared for college at the Groton School before attending Yale University on scholarship.

He began acting in college productions with the Yale Dramatic Association and spent his junior year abroad at the Sorbornne in Paris with the American Actor's Workshop. After a series of featured roles in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including "A Doll's House" with Liv Ullman, Waterston continued to grow as an actor in numerous productions with the New York Shakespeare Festival, including "As You Like It," "Cymbeline," "Measure for Measure" and "Hamlet." His Benedict in the stage and television production of "Much Ado About Nothing" brought him national attention and garnered him a Drama Desk Award and the prestigious Obie Award.

Concurrent with his stage career, Waterston established a strong body of work in film. His performance in 1974's "The Great Gatsby" was nominated for a Golden Globe award. Other notable theatrical films include "Hopscotch," "Heaven's Gate," "Just Between Friends," "Welcome Home,"John Waters' "Serial Mom" and the Woody Allen films "Interiors," "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Waterston has worked steadily in a progression of high quality television projects, including "The Good Lieutenant" (PBS) and telefilms "Finnegan Begin Again," "Friendly Fire" and ABC's "The Glass Menagerie" for which he received an Emmy nomination for his stellar performance opposite Katharine Hepburn. His lead performance in the BBC series "Oppenheimer" captured nominations for both a Golden Globe and British Academy of Television Award.

Last year Waterston launched a career as a producer as well -- he discovered a screenplay called "The Journey of August King" which he produced with Nick Wechsler and Keith Addis for Miramax Films. It stars Jason Patric and was directed by John Duigan ("Flirting," "Sirens") and was released last Fall.

Waterston appears in the film as well as starring with Charlie Sheen and Donald Sutherland as the President of the United States in "The Shadow Conspiracy" to be released this Fall by Hollywood Pictures. Waterston currently resides in Connecticut with his wife and four children.