Editing Sam Waterston (section)

=== 2011–present: Established actor ===
Waterston has had several other high profile television roles, including his portrayal of cable news president Charlie Skinner in ''[[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|The Newsroom]]'', an [[HBO]] series by [[Aaron Sorkin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Greg Mottola Tapped to Direct Aaron Sorkin's HBO Pilot|url=https://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/greg-mottola-tapped-direct-aaron-sorkin-hbo-pilot-25916|work=[[The Wrap]]|date=March 28, 2011|first=Tim|last=Kenneally|access-date=December 22, 2011|archive-date=October 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030205902/https://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/greg-mottola-tapped-direct-aaron-sorkin-hbo-pilot-25916/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Waterston acted opposite [[Jeff Daniels]], [[Emily Mortimer]], [[Dev Patel]], [[Olivia Munn]], and [[Jane Fonda]]. The series ran from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, Waterston appeared as [[Prospero]] in a Shakespeare in the Park production of ''[[The Tempest]]'', directed by Michael Greif.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/sam-waterston-to-star-in-the-tempest-in-central-park/|title=Sam Waterston to Star in 'The Tempest' in Central Park|first=Patrick|last=Healy|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/theater/review-the-tempest-stars-sam-waterston-and-the-weather-at-delacorte-theater.html|title=Review: 'The Tempest' Stars Sam Waterston and the Weather at Delacorte Theater|first=Ben|last=Brantley|work=The New York Times |date=June 17, 2015|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> In 2015, Waterston joined the cast of the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Grace and Frankie]]'', starring alongside [[Martin Sheen]], [[Jane Fonda]] and [[Lily Tomlin]]. In an interview with the ''[[New York Daily News]]'', Waterston supported Tomlin and Fonda in demanding higher salaries than the supporting actors, saying, "I think they're being cheated."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vanmetre|first1=Elizabeth|title=Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston agree 'Grace and Frankie' stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin deserve pay raise|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/martin-sheen-sam-waterston-female-stars-pay-raise-article-1.2218513|website=[[The New York Daily News]]|date=May 12, 2015|access-date=June 10, 2015}}</ref> His character Sol appeared on all seven seasons of the show, which concluded in 2022.{{cn|date=September 2023}} 

In 2017, he played Marshal John Cook	in the [[Netflix]] western limited series ''[[Godless (miniseries)|Godless]]'' opposite [[Jeff Daniels]] and [[Michelle Dockery]]. Waterston portrayed George DuPont in the political thriller ''[[Miss Sloane]]'' starring [[Jessica Chastain]] and played [[Erwin Griswold]] in the biographical drama ''[[On the Basis of Sex]]'' starring [[Felicity Jones]] as [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]. In 2021, Waterston was cast in the revival of ''[[Law & Order]]'', reprising his role as District Attorney [[Jack McCoy]]. He appeared on ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]'' to promote the show.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37K1zV-93xc|title= "Like Time Travel" - Sam Waterston On Becoming Jack McCoy Again For "Law & Order"|website= [[YouTube]]|date= February 26, 2022|accessdate= February 27, 2022}}</ref> In 2022, he portrayed [[George Shultz]] in the [[Hulu]] limited series ''[[The Dropout]]'' starring [[Amanda Seyfried]] as [[Elizabeth Holmes]].

On February 2, 2024, it was revealed that Waterson would be leaving ''Law & Order'' after 20 seasons, with his renowned character Jack McCoy, who he also played for 405 episodes being replaced by a new D.A. who will be portrayed by [[Tony Goldwyn]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/law-and-order-sam-waterston-exits-tony-goldwyn-joins-new-district-attorney-7501901|title=Sam Waterston to Exit Law & Order as Tony Goldwyn Joins as New District Attorney|first=Anna Lazarus|last=Caplan|publisher=People|date=February 2, 2024|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}</ref>