He will be given the fourth annual award for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in several stage and television productions.
Sam WatersonSTURBRIDGE – Sam Waterston may be best known for his role as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy on television’s “Law & Order,” but the actor said it was his portrayal of a 19th century circuit lawyer which has interested him the most.
Waterston portrayed of Abraham Lincoln, a circuit lawyer later elected 16th president of the United States, in several stage and television productions.
His work has earned him the fourth annual Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award. It will be bestowed upon him on Tuesday at Old Sturbridge Village.
Waterston voiced the role of Lincoln in Burns’ acclaimed documentary, “The Civil War.” He portrayed Lincoln in the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” as well as “Lincoln Seen and Heard” at the White House, and Gore Vidal’s television mini-series “Lincoln.”
“The preservation of history is invaluable,” said Waterston, winner of the 2003 Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement awarded annually by the Lincoln Forum. “(Playing Lincoln) has been a really interesting thread in my career.”
While preparing for one of his Lincoln roles, he went to the Library of Congress and one of the librarians there “found out how ill-informed I was,” he recalled.
Staffers brought out all kinds of historical artifacts, including documents on which Lincoln had worked and a cast of his hands. “All that makes you feel a connection to history,” Waterston said.
“The crowning experience” was getting to hold the contents of Lincoln’s pockets the night he was killed. These items included a watch fob made of onyx and gold, fold-up glasses given to him by his law partner, a wallet and editorials critical of him from Southern newspapers. “It was stunning to have history in my hands,” the 70-year-old actor said.
Arts are important to the preservation of history, Waterston contended, because “they give you a channel, a road, to the past.”
In addition to the role of Lincoln, Waterston added narration to the Burns documentary, “Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery,” serving as the voice of Thomas Jefferson. He also played Jefferson in Burns’ documentary about the third president of the United States.
Burns and Old Sturbridge Village will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Waterston in the Stephen M. Brewer Theater at Old Sturbridge Village at 8 p.m.
Old Sturbridge Village honored Burns, a documentary filmmaker, in 2008 for his commitment to making history accessible to the public. Through the annual Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award, he and Old Sturbridge Village continue to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the preservation of history through the arts.
In addition to Burns, previous recipients are presidential history Doris Kearns Goodwin and “John Adams” actress Laura Linney.
Waterston said he was “very honored by this (award) particularly because of the name it bears.”
The Cambridge-born actor makes his home in Connecticut. He is a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers, Richard Warren and Elizabeth Walker.
Nominated for Broadway’s 1994 Tony Award as Best Actor for playing Abraham Lincoln in a revival of Robert E. Sherwood’s “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” Waterston has earned numerous honors including Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards and an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984’s “The Killing Fields.”
Asked if he has a favorite among the characters he has portrayed, Waterston said there are too many to list. “So far I have had a really interesting career, and I hope it keeps up this way. The characters I have been given to play are so interesting.”
Portraying Jack McCoy on “Law & Order” between 1994 and 2010 had a impact on the actor when he was “deeply immersed in it” because as a district attorney who prosecuted the offenders, he dealt with scripts with violent story lines about heinous crimes. “I have nothing but admiration for the people who do it (prosecute crimes) in real life,” Waterston said. “It’s a grim part of life. It gets your attention.”
But, he quipped, playing McCoy “hasn’t made me a good lawyer; nobody should call me.”
Viewers have not tired of “Law & Order’s spin-offs: “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law & Order: LA.”
The series are based on a “good idea” to take stories from real life,” Waterston said. “As long as there is an appetite (for the series), there will never be a dearth of stories.”
A practicing Episcopalian, Waterston narrated the 1999 biographical documentary of Episcopal civil rights martyr Jonathan Myrick Daniels, “Here Am I, Send Me.” An active humanitarian, he supports such organizations such as Oceana, Refugees International and The United Way.
“I think it’s just natural to do this” service, he said.
For more information about the Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award festivities go to www.osv.org