Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor and occasional producer (television producer) and director (television director), noted particularly for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984s (1984 in film) The Killing Fields (The Killing Fields (film)), and his Golden Globe (Golden Globe Award)- and Screen Actors Guild Award (Screen Actors Guild Awards)-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy on the NBC television series Law & Order. He has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild-, BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)- and Emmy Awards (Emmy Award), having starred in over eighty film and television productions during his forty-five year career. Allmovie has characterised Waterston as having "cultivated a loyal following with his quietly charismatic, unfailingly solid performances." In January 2010, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.