Editing Sam Waterston (section)

===1963–1973: Early roles ===
[[File:Sam Waterston 1972.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Waterston with the American Shakespeare Festival in 1972]]
The classically trained Waterston has numerous stage credits to his name. In 1962, he made his [[Broadway (theatre)|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]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/sam-waterston/2/|title=Sam Waterston|date=16 April 2010 |publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref> 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 (play)|Indians]]'' on [[Broadway theatre|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 (actor)|Kevin Conway]], [[Charles Durning]], and [[Raul Julia]]. The play ran for 96 performances and 16 previews.<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3465 ''Indians''] ibdb.com</ref><ref name=play>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/indians-brooks-atkinson-theatre-vault-0000008045|title=Indians|magazine=[[Playbill (magazine)|Playbill]]|date=October 13, 1969}}</ref> 

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 (film)|Generation]]'' (1969). He had a leading role in the British romantic drama ''[[Three (1969 film)|Three]]'' acting opposite [[Charlotte Rampling]] and [[Robie Porter]]. He acted in the [[Merchant Ivory]] film ''[[Savages (1972 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 [[Prince Hamlet|title role]] in ''[[Hamlet]]'' (1975), the former earned him a [[Drama Desk Award|Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance]].