Season 1 • Episode 2
LatestThe life of Abraham Lincoln, from his election as President of the United States to the time of his assassination. Based on Gore Vidal's historical novel.
Acting
Waterston's physical transformation into that iconic slouch and sorrowful stare.
Writing
Gore Vidal's dialogue makes everyone sound like they're writing memoirs in real-time.
Sam Waterston
Abraham Lincoln
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Todd Lincoln
Richard Mulligan
William H. Seward
Deborah Adair
Kate Chase
Ruby Dee
Elizabeth Keckley
Thomas Gibson
William Sprague
Tom Brennan
Sen. Charles Sumner
Gregory Cooke
Robert Lincoln
Steven Culp
Johnny Hay
Jeffrey DeMunn
William Herndon
Jon DeVries
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
Robin Gammell
Stephen Douglas
James Gammon
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sam Waterston would later play Lincoln again in 'The Civil War' documentary and became so associated with the role that he voiced him in 'Freedom: A History of Us'—dude basically owned the patent.
This aired the same year as 'Rain Man' and 'Die Hard'—imagine channel-surfing from Bruce Willis crawling through vents to Sam Waterston debating the Homestead Act.
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