Sam Waterston is officially leaving the hit legal drama series Law & Order after appearing in over 400 episodes.
According to People, the 83-year-old actor will be stepping down from his longstanding role as District Attorney Jack McCoy after first joining the series 30 years ago. Fans can catch his final episode on February 22.
Tony Goldwyn – best known for his work as President Fitzgerald Grant III in Scandal – will now be joining the cast.
Goldwyn is set to portray another district attorney, whose name has not been publicly revealed as of yet.
The actor shared a statement to confirm the news, where he stated via The Washington Post that ‘the time has come for me to move on and take Jack McCoy with me.’
Sam Waterston is officially leaving the hit legal drama series Law & Order after nearly 30 years; seen in 2022
The Academy Award-nominated figure then stated that, although he would miss the program, he was enthusiastic about the next part of his career.
‘There’s sadness in leaving, but I’m just too curious about what’s next. An actor doesn’t want to let himself get too comfortable,’ he said.
Waterston made his debut as McCoy during Law & Order’s fifth season, which premiered in 1994.
The performer went on to reprise his role in several episodes of the spinoff series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
The actor remained with Law & Order until its original cancellation, which took place in 2010.
Waterston returned to the Dick Wolf-created program when it was revived for a 21st season, which premiered in 2022.
He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1997, 1999 and 2000 for his work on the program.
The actor was also put up for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1995.
According to People , the 83-year-old actor will be stepping down from his longstanding role as District Attorney Jack McCoy after portraying the character in over 400 episodes of the program, and his final episode will air on February 22
The performer – who returned to his old part in 2021 – will be replaced by Tony Goldwyn, best known for his work as President Fitzgerald Grant III in Scandal; Goldwyn is seen in 2023
Waterston made his debut as McCoy during Law & Order’s fifth season, which premiered in 1994
The performer spoke about working on the show during an interview with NPR , where he stated that, had it not been for his role in Law & Order, he would have likely taken on less fulfilling jobs; he is seen in 2022
Waterston won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in 1998 for his role on the show.
The performer spoke about working on the show during an interview with NPR, where he stated that, had it not been for his role in Law & Order, he would have likely taken on less fulfilling jobs.
‘I might have wound up doing other things that I wasn’t as glad to be in — dumb roles or dumb projects,’ he admitted.
He added: ‘Let’s not leave out the fact that [my wife] Lynn and I had four kids who needed to go to school and go to college and Law & Order paid for it.’
