A Doll's House

From: Actor Sam Waterston: More Than the Sum of His Parts by Clarke Taylor, LA Times June 8, 1975:

Most recently, in Lincoln Center's long-awaited production of "A Dolls� House", his Torvald has received critical acclaim where one would have anticipated all credit going to Liv Ullmann as Nora, this marking her American dramatic debut. Clive Barnes aptly called Torvald "a patsy role...but Mr. Waterston played it with uncommon skill. He handled the final scene (with a sense) that Torvald, too, was a victim of his time."

[Sam said]"When I first knew I was going to play Torvald, I decided I wanted to show the audience that I too found him loathesome. I was on the woman's side. For the past 15 years or so thinking men, of whom I think I'm one, have thought more about women than about themselves.

"But one day during rehearsal, Liv said, 'I think they ought to love each other, don't you?' It was a terrific idea, because if they love each other they're making mutual mistakes. He has more authority because of the place he's been given in the world. But he didn't invent the world! In the end, Torvald is saying, here I am, blow me down. That's enviable, to me, because everybody's at sea, ready for change."