Sam Waterston reacts to retirement rumors ahead of ‘Law & Order’ exit: ‘I think my reputation is in terrible danger’
Dun-dun.
While Sam Waterston is officially leaving “Law & Order” after three decades on the air, he’s still not ready for retirement.
The “Great Gatsby” actor, 83, opened up about his replacement, Tony Goldwyn, and why he’s not quite done with showbiz just yet during an appearance on the “Today” show.
Waterston has played district attorney Jack McCoy on the legal drama since 1994, and announced he was exiting the show earlier this month.
“I think he’s going to be great. I think my reputation is in terrible danger because I think just he’s going to be wonderful and I’ll be watching,” Waterston said of the “Scandal” alum, 63, on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be big trouble. It’ll be what the DA is, demanding and a lot of fun to watch.”
Goldwyn is taking over as the new district attorney, Nicholas Baxter.
Waterston has made his mark in more than 400 episodes of the critically acclaimed series over the last 30 years.
When asked if it feels like it has actually been that long, he quipped: “Yeah! Twenty-five or 30 years gets your attention.”
“The Killing Fields” star’s last “Law & Order” episode will air on Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Of his grand finale, Waterston noted that when the cast “said goodbye to me, the last shot that I did was on the set of the courtroom and [creator and executive producer] Dick Wolf showed up and everybody gave speeches.”
He dished that he quoted a few lines from President Abraham Lincoln when he went to Washington, DC, at the beginning of the Civil War.
The Massachusetts native, however, isn’t ready to hang up his acting hat just yet. When he was inquired about retirement, he replied: “Not on your nelly. Not a chance. No, no, no!”
Waterston’s wife, Lynn, and his manager “are in charge of finding me my next job.”
Despite not wanting to retire just yet, he still wants to take a break from working.
“I can’t tell you how freeing it is,” he said. “It happened the minute I was walking off the set of the courtroom on that last day. Suddenly, there was space in my head that I didn’t even know there was that had been occupied by the job forever. Even during hiatus.”
“I’m a little bit drunk on just the freedom,” he joked, when asked what projects he has in store next.
His only current project is titled “Six Triple Eight” and is in development.
