List of awards and nominations received by Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston awards and nominations

Cotillard at the Cabourg Film Festival in 2017
Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations Academy Awards 0 1 BAFTA Awards 0 2 Emmy Awards 1 8 Golden Globes 1 7 SAG Awards 1 11 Tony Awards 0 1
Totals [a]
Wins	3
Nominations	49
Note Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

This article is a List of awards and nominations received by Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston is an American actor. He is known for his earnest and authoritative roles on stage and screen. Over his career he has received various accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a British Academy Television Award and a Tony Award.

Among Waterston's early film roles, it include his performance as Nick Carraway in the historical romance film The Great Gatsby (1974) for which he was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and New Star of the Year – Actor. He gained acclaim for his portrayal of war journalist Sydney Schanberg in the historical epic The Killing Fields (1984) for which he earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. He lost to F. Murray Abraham for his role as Antonio Salieri in the period biographical drama epic Amadeus (1984).

On television, Waterston took an early role portraying theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the BBC Two historical drama miniseries Oppenheimer (1980) for which he was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. Waterston gained stardom and notoriety for playing District Attorney Jack McCoy in the popular long running crime series Law and Order for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He also played Forrest Bedford, the progressive district attorney in the NBC drama series I'll Fly Away (1991–1993) for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama as well as a nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

On stage, Waterston portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the Broadway revival of the Robert E. Sherwood play Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1990) for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play as well as the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award.

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1984	Best Actor	The Killing Fields	Nominated	[1]

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
1984	Best Actor in a Leading Role	The Killing Fields	Nominated	[2]
British Academy Television Awards
1981	Best Actor on Television	Oppenheimer	Nominated	[3]

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards
1974	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	The Glass Menagerie	Nominated	[4]
1992	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	I'll Fly Away (episode: "Hard Lessons Master Magician")	Nominated	[5]
1993		I'll Fly Away (episode: "All in the Life")	Nominated	[6]
1994	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	I'll Fly Away: Then and Now	Nominated	[7]
1996	Outstanding Informational Series	Time Life's Lost Civilizations	Won	[8]
1997	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Law & Order (episode: "Mad Dog")	Nominated	[9]
1999		Law & Order (episode: "Sideshow")	Nominated	[10]
2000		Law & Order (episode: "Killerz")	Nominated	[11]

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1974	Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	The Great Gatsby	Nominated	[12]
	New Star of the Year – Actor		Nominated	[12]
1982	Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film	Oppenheimer	Nominated	[12]
1984	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	The Killing Fields	Nominated	[12]
1991	Best Actor – Television Series Drama	I'll Fly Away (season one)	Nominated	[12]
1992		I'll Fly Away (season two)	Won	[12]
1994		Law & Order	Nominated	[12]

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1994	Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series	Law and Order	Nominated	[13]
1995			Nominated	[14]
1996			Nominated	[15]
1997	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated	[16]
Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series	Nominated
1998	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series		Won	[17]
Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series	Nominated
	1999		Nominated	[18]
	2000		Nominated	[19]
	2001		Nominated	[20]
	2003		Nominated	[21]

Tony Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1994	Best Actor in a Play	Abe Lincoln in Illinois	Nominated	[22]

Theatre awards

Organizations	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Drama Desk Awards	1994	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Abe Lincoln in Illinois	Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award	1994	Outstanding Actor in a Play		Nominated	[23]

Miscellaneous awards

Organizations	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Satellite Awards	1998	Best Actor – Television Series Drama	Law and Order	Nominated
	2000			Nominated
Viewers for Quality Television	1992	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	I'll Fly Away	Nominated
	1993			Nominated
	1998		Law and Order	Nominated
	1999			Nominated
	2000			Nominated

References

1. "57th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
2. "Film in 1985". awards.bafta.org . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
3. "Television in 1981". awards.bafta.org . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
4. "Sam Waterston". Emmys.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
5. "Nominees / Winners 1992 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
6. "Nominees / Winners 1993 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
7. "Nominees / Winners 1994 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
8. "Nominees / Winners 1996 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
9. "Nominees / Winners 1997 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
10. "Nominees / Winners 1999 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
11. "Nominees / Winners 2000 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
12. "Sam Waterston - Golden Globes". Golden Globe Awards . Retrieved June 23, 2025.
13. "The Inaugural Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
14. "The 2nd Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
15. "The 3rd Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
16. "The 4th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
17. "The 5th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
18. "The 6th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
19. "The 7th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
20. "The 8th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
21. "The 10th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 19, 2024.
22. "Sam Waterston (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
23. "Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Broadway, 1994)". Playbill. Retrieved March 19, 2024.