Sam Waterston -- Quotes and Trivia

"There is no problem that cannot be improved by effort, and no effort that is too paltry to be worth undertaking."

(On Unity 08)-"I'm not a politician, I'm just a cheerleader."

"If there's anything heroic about the law, it's not that it deals justice but that it struggles to deal justice."

(On his heritage)-"[I was born with] a rusty silver spoon in my mouth."

(On playing Abraham Lincoln)-"It's high time a man of my size and shape - and with a nose of this dimension - got a shot at it."

"I got a note from my father, who said that 'Success is wonderful — if you don't inhale.' That was his own aphorism, and I think it's the very best thing he could have said to me or anyone else on the subject."

(From a 1975 interview)-"The mask of an actor is wonderful, but essentially you're appreciating the man or woman behind the role. You simply rearrange your nature for each part.

(On his career, from a 1985 interview)-"If my work has any social value, it will be beacuse I have devoted my life to something that is humane."

(On his acting career, 1990)-"I'm long on experience and short on training".

(From the same 1990 interview)-"You can't take your career too seriously, because it's subject to too many things beyond control...and then there's whim and chance and destiny and fate and all the rest. Your career just goes on, laughing at you."

If you'd like to know Sam's roots (on his mother's side), you can click here. This is a well done and documented genealogy. Maybe you will find you are related to him!

Please submit your favorite Sam quotes and interesting trivia. You will be given credit for your submissions. Email me at: ayeshahaqqiqa@yahoo.com. Thanks!