The Transformation Of Sam Waterston From Childhood To Law And Order

Does Sam Waterston look like one of the greatest presidents of the United States? Enough people certainly seem to think so, given that Waterston has played Abraham Lincoln several times in his career: in 1988, for Gore Vidal's "Lincoln"; in 1990, for Ken Burns' "The Civil War"; and most notably in 1993, for a second stage revival of "Abe Lincoln In Illinois." 

Waterston himself has a theory: "People knew by then that I like to do Shakespeare. And if I liked to do Shakespeare, I must be serious," he said in a New York Times interview. It was on Broadway that he received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Play, but the part did not fall at his doorstep easily. He "begged, harassed, and beleaguered" his agent for it, he told Charlie Rose. "At the center there is an emotional whole — and I think this is the reason why people get so fascinated with the man, because no matter what you do to him, no matter what take there is, the same colossal personality comes out, and trying to name it and really put your finger on what is the center of it becomes terribly fascinating," Waterston explained.

Other than becoming "addicted" to Lincolnian history, Waterston visited the Lincoln Memorial frequently — dragging his wife with him on numerous occasions — to get into the spirit of the American hero by reading out loud the speeches carved on its walls. "It sort of makes the floors tremble, it's so powerful," he told HistoryNet.